RF Safe

Chronic blue light leads to accelerated aging in Drosophila by impairing energy metabolism and neurotransmitter levels

2022 · Harm · Low evidence

← Research stream
HarmLow evidencePaper 742

Compared with constant darkness, flies kept in constant blue light showed significant alterations in multiple metabolites, with more dramatic changes after 14 days. Blue-light-exposed flies had elevated succinate and reduced pyruvate and citrate (suggesting i…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2022
Study typeanimal
Reported directionHarm
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Chronic blue light leads to accelerated aging in Drosophila by impairing energy metabolism and neurotransmitter levels Jun Yang, Song Yujuan, Law Alexander D., Rogan Conno J., Shimoda Kelsey, Djukovic Danijel, Anderson Jeffrey C., Kretzschmar Doris, Hendrix David A., Giebultowicz Jadwiga M. Chronic blue light leads to accelerated aging in Drosophila by impairing energy metabolism and neurotransmitter levels. Frontiers in Aging. Vol. 3, 2022, doi: 10.3389/fragi.2022.983373. Abstract Blue light (BL) is becoming increasingly prevalent in artificial illumination, raising concerns about its potential health hazard to humans. In fact, there is evidence suggesting that acute BL exposure may lead to oxidative stress and death of retinal cells specialized for photoreception. On the other hand, recent studies in Drosophila melanogaster demonstrated that chronic BL exposure across lifespan leads to accelerated aging manifested in reduced lifespan and brain neurodegeneration even in flies with genetically ablated eyes, suggesting that BL can damage cells and tissues not specialized for light perception. At the physiological level, BL exposure impairs mitochondria function in flies, but the metabolic underpinnings of these effects have not been studied. Here, we investigated effects of chronic BL on metabolic pathways in heads of eyes absent (eya<sup>2</sup>) mutant flies in order to focus on extra-retinal tissues. We compared metabolomic profiles in flies kept for 10 or 14 days in constant BL or constant darkness, using LC-MS and GC-MS. Data analysis revealed significant alterations in the levels of several metabolites suggesting that critical cellular pathways are impacted in BL-exposed flies. In particular, dramatic metabolic rearrangements are observed in heads of flies kept in BL for 14 days, including highly elevated levels of succinate but reduced levels of pyruvate and citrate, suggesting impairments in energy production. These flies also show onset of neurodegeneration and our analysis detected significantly reduced levels of several neurotransmitters including glutamate and Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), suggesting that BL disrupts brain homeostasis. Taken together, these data provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which BL interferes with vital metabolic pathways that are conserved between fly and human cells. Open access paper: frontiersin.org

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal
Effect directionharm
PopulationDrosophila melanogaster (eyes absent eya^2 mutant flies; extra-retinal tissues)
Sample sizeNot supplied
Exposureconstant blue light for 10 or 14 days (chronic exposure)
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Compared with constant darkness, flies kept in constant blue light showed significant alterations in multiple metabolites, with more dramatic changes after 14 days. Blue-light-exposed flies had elevated succinate and reduced pyruvate and citrate (suggesting impaired energy production) and reduced neurotransmitters including glutamate and GABA, alongside onset of neurodegeneration.

Outcomes measured

  • metabolomic profile changes in fly heads (LC-MS, GC-MS)
  • metabolite levels related to energy metabolism (e.g., succinate, pyruvate, citrate)
  • neurotransmitter levels (e.g., glutamate, GABA)
  • onset of neurodegeneration
  • accelerated aging indicators (reduced lifespan mentioned as prior evidence)

Limitations

  • Sample size not reported in the provided abstract/metadata
  • Animal model (Drosophila); generalizability to humans not established in the abstract
  • Exposure characterized as constant blue light vs constant darkness; intensity/spectrum details not provided in the abstract
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "artificial illumination (blue light)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "constant blue light for 10 or 14 days (chronic exposure)"
  },
  "population": "Drosophila melanogaster (eyes absent eya^2 mutant flies; extra-retinal tissues)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "metabolomic profile changes in fly heads (LC-MS, GC-MS)",
    "metabolite levels related to energy metabolism (e.g., succinate, pyruvate, citrate)",
    "neurotransmitter levels (e.g., glutamate, GABA)",
    "onset of neurodegeneration",
    "accelerated aging indicators (reduced lifespan mentioned as prior evidence)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Compared with constant darkness, flies kept in constant blue light showed significant alterations in multiple metabolites, with more dramatic changes after 14 days. Blue-light-exposed flies had elevated succinate and reduced pyruvate and citrate (suggesting impaired energy production) and reduced neurotransmitters including glutamate and GABA, alongside onset of neurodegeneration.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Sample size not reported in the provided abstract/metadata",
    "Animal model (Drosophila); generalizability to humans not established in the abstract",
    "Exposure characterized as constant blue light vs constant darkness; intensity/spectrum details not provided in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "blue light",
    "chronic exposure",
    "Drosophila melanogaster",
    "metabolomics",
    "LC-MS",
    "GC-MS",
    "energy metabolism",
    "mitochondria",
    "succinate",
    "pyruvate",
    "citrate",
    "neurotransmitters",
    "glutamate",
    "GABA",
    "neurodegeneration",
    "aging"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}
AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.3389/fragi.2022.983373
PubMed: Not supplied

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library