Judging Category
Basic or Experimental Research
Student Rank
Senior
College
Sciences and Mathematics
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Edward 'Ted' Schmid, eschmid@astate.edu
Description
Neurodegenerative diseases are often linked to chronic inflammation in the nervous system, but it is still unclear what triggers this process during the early stages of disease. This project examines whether activation of the NF-κB transcription factor Relish may act as a temporal switch that contributes to early neurodegenerative stress in Drosophila melanogaster. As a result of many innate immune pathways are consistent between flies and humans, Drosophila serves as a useful model for studying how immune signaling affects neuronal health. In this study, neural driver lines were crossed with control strains to evaluate how changes in Relish signaling influence observable phenotypes associated with neurodegeneration. Eye morphology and other visible traits were examined as indicators of neuronal stress and potential structural damage. By comparing experimental crosses with control populations, this project aims to determine whether Relish activation is associated with early signs of neurodegenerative change. Understanding how immune signaling pathways interact with neuronal function may provide insight into how inflammatory responses contribute to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and may help clarify how protective immune pathways shift toward harmful neuroinflammation.
Disciplines
Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Kyle M., "An Investigation into Relish Activation as a Temporal Switch in Neurodegeneration" (2026). Create@State. 7.
https://arch.astate.edu/evn-createstate/2026/posters/7
Included in
An Investigation into Relish Activation as a Temporal Switch in Neurodegeneration
Neurodegenerative diseases are often linked to chronic inflammation in the nervous system, but it is still unclear what triggers this process during the early stages of disease. This project examines whether activation of the NF-κB transcription factor Relish may act as a temporal switch that contributes to early neurodegenerative stress in Drosophila melanogaster. As a result of many innate immune pathways are consistent between flies and humans, Drosophila serves as a useful model for studying how immune signaling affects neuronal health. In this study, neural driver lines were crossed with control strains to evaluate how changes in Relish signaling influence observable phenotypes associated with neurodegeneration. Eye morphology and other visible traits were examined as indicators of neuronal stress and potential structural damage. By comparing experimental crosses with control populations, this project aims to determine whether Relish activation is associated with early signs of neurodegenerative change. Understanding how immune signaling pathways interact with neuronal function may provide insight into how inflammatory responses contribute to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and may help clarify how protective immune pathways shift toward harmful neuroinflammation.
