Document Type
Poster Presentation
Publication Date
4-24-2026
Year of Award
2026
Date Assignment Submitted
2026
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can alter the quality of life, often resulting in cognitive decline, neurodegeneration, or death. There have been no biological advances to resolve the long-term consequences of TBI. The APOE ε2 gene is widely known as a neuroprotectant for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. However, the biological mechanisms of how APOE ε2 protects the against neurodegeneration is unknown. The purpose of this study is to investigate APOE ε 2’s response to an environmental stimulus that leads to neurodegeneration, TBI and further investigate APOE ε2’s biological mechanisms. After inflicting blunt force trauma to our model organism Drosophila melanogaster, longevity, activity and molecular analyses allowed quantitative data to conclude the effects of the ectopical expression of APOE ε2. The Kaplan-Meier curve indicated that flies carrying APOE ε2 had an increased probability of surviving beyond 20 days post induced TBI compared to nonmutated control group, suggesting a potential neuroprotective benefit. The One-way ANOVA further supports the claim with the injured mutant and uninjured control groups statistically mirroring one another. Flies were then placed in the Drosophila Activity Monitor (DAM) to further evaluate behavioral outcomes and functional resilience. Results of this assay express the functionality and activity levels of the flies remaining intact with similar qualitative results to non-induced flies. A western blot will allow for the probing for proteins to find an increase in amounts of injury-associated TAU. The results suggest that when the ectopically expressed human gene APOE ε2 longevity and activity increases significantly even mimicking the uninjured control group.
Publisher
Lynn University
Conference/Symposium
Lynn University Student Research Symposium
Contest
Poster Presentations: Health Science & Technology category
Award
Category Winner
City/State
Boca Raton, FL
Department
College of Arts and Sciences
Instructor
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Kimberly Rowland
Recommended Citation
Mesidort, R. F., & Rowland, K. D. (2026, April 24). APOE ε2 potential protection against long-term consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury [Poster presentation]. Lynn University Student Research Symposium, Boca Raton, FL, United States.
