The microbiota-gut-brain axis in aging and/or neurodegeneration is a primary area of interest in our lab. We use the fruit fly (both wild type and genetically engineered models of Alzheimer’ or Parkinson’ diseases) as a well-establish, simple animal model. This allows us to study how nutraceuticals and dietary natural compounds, particularly those derived from agricultural by-products, influence inflammation (inflammaging), oxidative stress and immune responses (immune senescence) during aging and neurodegeneration, also taking in account the sex factor.

The network dynamics of these pathophysiological mechanisms change with ageing, contributing to many clinical manifestations of age-related pathologies. Therefore, our primary focus is on the molecular pathways underlying aging, oxidative stress and inflammation. 

We assess these processes by analyzing longevity curves in response to dietary supplementation, evaluating motor function maintenance (climbing test), and measuring the ability to respond to environmental stressors (e.g., paraquat or ethanol CAFE exposure) in our models. These results are supported with analysis of proteomics, RT-PCR and Western blotting techniques applied to sectioned body parts (gut, brain, abdomen and thorax) or to the whole body of the adult flies.