Infection Susceptibility in a TPI Deficiency Model. Natasha C Hardina¹, Carolyn Steglich¹, Stacy L Hrizo^1,2. 1) Biology , Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA; 2) Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA.

   Triosephosphate Isomerase (TPI) is a glycolytic enzyme. Mutations in this enzyme are associated with a neurodegenerative disorder called TPI Deficiency. Individuals with TPI Deficiency also exhibit increased susceptibility to infection due to reduce immune system function. We can model TPI deficiency using a Drosophila melanogaster strain with a mutation in the TPI gene that causes an M80T transition in the amino acid sequence. This mutation is called sugarkill. These sugarkill flies exhibit similar phenotypes to humans with the disorder such as reduced lifespan and neurodegeneration. However, it has not been determined if sugarkill animals have reduced immune function. Therefore we have examined mutant TPI flies and wildtype flies to determine if they model this characteristic of the human disease. We hypothesized that the immune response in the sugarkill flies should be impaired compared to wild type Drosophila melanogaster.