Henry Smith

Molecular Entomology, EmtoSci Publisher, BC, V7A4Z5, Canada
Author    Correspondence author
Molecular Entomology, 2024, Vol. 15, No. 1   doi: 10.5376/me.2024.15.0003
Received: 19 Jan., 2024    Accepted: 01 Feb., 2024    Published: 10 Feb., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Smith H., 2024, Analysis of the mechanism of action of trametinib: extending the lifespan of female fruit flies in intestinal stem cells, Molecular Entomology, 15(1): 18-22 (doi: 10.5376/me.2024.15.0003) 

“Trametinib ameliorates aging-associated gut pathology in Drosophila females by reducing Pol III activity in intestinal stem cells”, Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, January 19, 2024,  by Enric Ureña, Bowen Xu, Jennifer C. Regan, Linda Partridge and others from the University of Washington, Friday Harbor, Washington, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. In this study, the team explored the potential of the anticancer drug Trametinib to extend lifespan and improve gut health in fruit flies. The results showed that Trametinib significantly extended the lifespan and improved the gut health of female Drosophila by inhibiting RNA polymerase III (Pol III) activity in intestinal stem cells (ISCs). In contrast, the drug had a weaker lifespan extension and no significant improvement in gut health in male Drosophila. The study also found that Trametinib exerts its life-extending effects in ISCs in part through a Maf1-mediated mechanism.

Trametinib; Female fruit flies; Intestinal stem cells