Honors Theses
Advisor
Dr. Madhuri Kango-Singh
Department
Biology
Publication Date
4-22-2026
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
Glial brain tumors typically occur in older adults and have no known cure. Therefore, it is important to study the growth and physiological effects that this disease causes in hopes of finding an adequate solution. A great and inexpensive model to study glial cell tumors is flies because they share similar neurological pathways with humans. Our lab studies glioma brain tumors in larval stages of Drosophila, but no adult models have been made to account for and match the occurrence of cancer developing in older adults. Therefore, this study’s purpose is to create and study the growth of glial cell tumors in adult fly models. An important tool used for this model is the GAL4-UAS system, which allows cell-type and developmental stage-specific expression of genes. Using the repoGAL4 driver in the glial cells of the developing larval brain, EGFR and PI3K pathways are co-activated, the two pathways most frequently activated in human glioma. To model late tumor growth, TubGAL80TS will be utilized, which is a temperature sensitive GAL4 inhibitor that will keep GAL4 expression inhibited until flies reach adulthood. Adult flies can then be cultured at temperatures ideal for the inactivation of the TubGAL80TS, which will allow GAL4 to activate the uncontrolled proliferation of glial cells by activation of the PI3K and EGFR pathways. Growth responses will be compared to typical fruit fly development to see if there are any similarities. This will be accomplished by tagging the GAL4 genes with UAS-GFP to visualize cell growth in dissected brains
Permission Statement
This item is protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code) and may only be used for noncommercial, educational, and scholarly purposes.
Keywords
Undergraduate research
eCommons Citation
Lindenmuth, Anna, "Developing Adult Glioma Model in Drosophila" (2026). Honors Theses. 514.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/uhp_theses/514
COinS
