Using 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes in Fruit Flies

Overview

Currently, over 415 million people worldwide have diabetes and within that population, 90% - 95% have type 2 diabetes; increasingly more children and young adults are also developing it. The research conducted in this study aimed to assess the role of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 solution, at varying concentrations, in protecting diabetic-like phenotypes from being present in and passed on from the parents to offspring as well as to limit DNA methyltransferase activity in fruit flies. It was hypothesized that the highest concentration of vitamin D solution (0.055 ul/ml) would be most effective in having a protective role, with the exception of that in the DHR96 mutant flies, as they lack the vitamin D receptor (negative control). Fruit flies were suitable model organisms, as they share 75% of the disease-causing genes with humans and can develop diet-induced insulin resistance. All fly groups (including parents and offspring) were utilized for assays including measuring adult body mass, wing size, glucose and sugars content, and a DNMT kit used to quantify DNMT activity. The results indicated that the hypothesis was supported; the highest concentration of vitamin D solution was most effective in the offspring of both the wildtype and InR mutant fly groups. Therefore, the research conducted can be applied to further studies to show the role of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 as a potential DNMT inhibitor (specific to genes associated with type 2 diabetes with further studies) and as a potential treatment for type 2 diabetes.