Oxidative stress induces <i>wfs1</i> expression, and neuronal knockdown of <i>wfs1</i> increases vulnerability to oxidative stress.

<p>(<b>A</b>) mRNA levels of <i>wfs1</i> were induced by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) exposure in fly brains, as determined by qRT-PCR. n = 4, ***<i>p</i> < 0.001 by Student’s <i>t</i>-test. (<b>B</b>) Neuronal knockdown of <i>wfs1</i> significantly reduced survival time after H₂O₂ exposure compared with that of flies with <i>mcherry</i> RNAi. The survival rates of flies with H₂O₂ exposure were determined by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis with log-rank test and statistical significance was indicated in the figure (left panel) (n = 29, <i>mcherry</i> RNAi with 10% sucrose only, n = 26, <i>wfs1</i> RNAi with 10% sucrose only, n = 236, <i>mcherry</i> RNAi with H₂O₂ exposure, n = 171, <i>wfs1</i> RNAi with H₂O₂ exposure). Average survival time of <i>wfs1</i> knockdown flies with H₂O₂ exposure was significantly reduced (right panel). ***<i>p</i> <0.001 by Student’s <i>t</i>-test. (<b>C</b>) The mRNA levels of genes related to oxidative stress responses in 29-day-old fly brains with <i>wfs1</i> RNAi or <i>mcherry</i> RNAi were determined by qRT-PCR. n = 4, *<i>p</i> < 0.05, **<i>p</i> < 0.01 and ***<i>p</i> < 0.001 by Student’s <i>t</i>-test. Genotypes and ages of flies are described in <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1007196#pgen.1007196.s001" target="_blank">S1 Table</a>.