Glial dysfunction causes age-related memory impairment in Drosophila

Abstract

Several aging phenotypes, including age-related memory impairment (AMI), are thought to be caused by cumulative oxidative damage. In Drosophila, age-related impairments in 1 hr memory can be suppressed by reducing activity of protein kinase A (PKA). However, the mechanism for this effect has been unclear. Here we show that decreasing PKA suppresses AMI by reducing activity of pyruvate carboxylase (PC), a glial metabolic enzyme whose amounts increase upon aging. Increased PC activity causes AMI through a mechanism independent of oxidative damage. Instead, increased PC activity is associated with decreases in D-serine, a glia-derived neuromodulator that regulates NMDA receptor activity. D-serine feeding suppresses both AMI and memory impairment caused by glial overexpression of dPC, indicating that an oxidative stress-independent dysregulation of glial modulation of neuronal activity contributes to AMI in Drosophila.