Figure 2 |. Genetic manipulation of NMD modifies tau^R406W-induced neurodegeneration in Drosophila.

A) Transcripts levels of Upf1, Upf2, Upf3, and Smg5 are unchanged in control versus tau^R406W Drosophila head lysates based on dPCR. B) RNAi-mediated reduction of Upf1, Upf3, and Smg5, and overexpression of Upf2 harboring a dominant-negative mutation significantly enhance tau^R406W-induced neuronal death based on TUNEL staining in Drosophila brains. C) Panneuronal overexpression of wild-type Upf1 or Upf2 significantly suppress tau^R406W-induced neuronal death based on TUNEL staining in Drosophila brains. D) Genetic manipulation of NMD core factors does not change total protein levels of transgenic tau^R406W based on western blotting. E) Quantification of (D), total levels of tau protein normalized to actin. n=4–6 biological replicates per genotype. All assays were performed at day ten of adulthood. ****p<0.0001, one-way ANOVA. Error bars=SEM. Full genotypes are included in Supplemental Table 1.