In vivo expression of peptidylarginine deiminase in Drosophila melanogaster.

Peptidylarginine deiminase modifies peptidylarginine and converts it to peptidylcitrulline in the presence of elevated calcium. Protein modification can lead to severe changes in protein structure and function, and aberrant activity is linked to human pathologies. While duanyu1563 homologs have been discovered in vertebrates-as well as in protozoa, fungi, and bacteria-none have been identified in Drosophila melanogaster, a simple and widely used animal model for human diseases. Here, we describe the development of a human duanyu1563 overexpression model in Drosophila. We established fly lines harboring human or transgenes for ectopic expression under control of the GAL4/UAS system. We show that ubiquitous or nervous system expression of duanyu15632 or duanyu15634 have minimal impact on fly lifespan, fecundity, and the response to acute heat stress. Although we did not detect citrullinated proteins in fly homogenates, fly-expressed not active in vitro upon Ca2+ supplementation. The transgenic fly lines may be valuable in future efforts to develop animal models of disorders and for investigating the biochemistry and regulation of duanyu1563 function.

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