Drosophila has been instrumental in advancing studies on aging. Combination of the genetic methods available for Drosophila together with pharmacologic approaches can provide even deeper insight into the mechanisms of aging. Here, we studied the effects of chronic administration of the proteasomal inhibitor MG132 on muscle morphology. Besides testing for drug effects, we also specifically probed the feasibility of different oral drug administration regimes. Several conditions were employed:
1. MG132 present constantly in the fly food,
2. MG132 supplied on sucrose-soaked discs as an alternative supplement along with standard fly food,
3. MG132 obligatory supplied during overnight sessions, twice a week
The trials went for 4 weeks at 29oC and then the effects of MG132 were scored by evaluating the abundance of polyubiquitylated proteins on cryosections and in muscle tissue lysates. According to preliminary results, chronic administration of MG132 improves muscle morphology in aged flies. The only successful feeding regime was when the drug was constantly present in the food. Additionally, we found that dimethyl sulfoxyde, a common organic solvent for many drugs, acts as a strong feeding repellent to flies, thereby reducing drug consumption rates. The results of our study emphasize the importance of proper drug administration planning in pharmacologic studies.