Loss of Na+/K+-ATPase in Drosophila photoreceptors leads to blindness and age-dependent neurodegeneration

The activity of Na+/K+-ATPase establishes transmembrane ion gradients and is essential to cell function and survival. Either dysregulation or deficiency of neuronal Na+/K+-ATPase has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and rapid-onset dystonia Parkinsonism. However, genetic evidence that directly links neuronal Na+/K+-ATPase deficiency to in vivo neurodegeneration has been lacking. In this study, we use Drosophila photoreceptors to investigate the cell-autonomous effects of neuronal Na+/K+ ATPase. Loss of ATPα, an α subunit of Na+/K+-ATPase, in photoreceptors through UAS/Gal4-mediated RNAi eliminated the light-triggered depolarization of the photoreceptors, rendering the fly virtually blind in behavioral assays. Intracellular recordings indicated that ATPα knockdown photoreceptors were already depolarized in the dark, which was due to a loss of intracellular K+. Importantly, ATPα knockdown resulted in the degeneration of photoreceptors in older flies. This degeneration was independent of light and showed characteristics of apoptotic/hybrid cell death as observed via electron microscopy analysis. Loss of Nrv3, a Na+/K+-ATPase β subunit, partially reproduced the signaling and degenerative defects observed in ATPα knockdown flies. Thus, the loss of Na+/K+-ATPase not only eradicates visual function but also causes age-dependent degeneration in photoreceptors, confirming the link between neuronal Na+/K+ ATPase deficiency and in vivo neurodegeneration. This work also establishes Drosophila photoreceptors as a genetic model for studying the cell-autonomous mechanisms underlying neuronal Na+/K+ ATPase deficiency-mediated neurodegeneration.