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Drosophila melanogaster is a useful organism for determining protein function and modeling human disease. Drosophila offers a rapid generation time and an abundance of genomic resources and genetic tools. Conservation in protein structure, signaling pathways, and developmental processes make studies performed in Drosophila relevant to other species, including humans. Drosophila models have been generated for neurodegenerative diseases, muscular dystrophy, cancer, and many other disorders. Recently, intermediate filament protein diseases have been modeled in Drosophila. These models have revealed novel mechanisms of pathology, illuminated potential new routes of therapy, and make whole organism compound screens feasible. The goal of this chapter is to outline steps to study intermediate filament function and model intermediate filament-associated diseases in Drosophila. The steps are general and can be applied to study the function of almost any protein. The protocols outlined here are for both the novice and experienced Drosophila researcher, allowing the rich developmental and cell biology that Drosophila offers to be applied to studies of intermediate filaments., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The blistering skin disorder epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) results from dominant mutations in keratin 5 (K5) or keratin 14 (K14) genes, encoding the intermediate filament (IF) network of basal epidermal keratinocytes. The mechanisms governing keratin network formation and collapse due to EBS mutations remain incompletely understood. Drosophila lacks cytoplasmic IFs, providing a 'null' environment to examine the formation of keratin networks and determine mechanisms by which mutant keratins cause pathology. Here, we report that ubiquitous co-expression of transgenes encoding wild-type human K14 and K5 resulted in the formation of extensive keratin networks in Drosophila epithelial and non-epithelial tissues, causing no overt phenotype. Similar to mammalian cells, treatment of transgenic fly tissues with phosphatase inhibitors caused keratin network collapse, validating Drosophila as a genetic model system to investigate keratin dynamics. Co-expression of K5 and a K14(R125C) mutant that causes the most severe form of EBS resulted in widespread formation of EBS-like cytoplasmic keratin aggregates in epithelial and non-epithelial fly tissues. Expression of K14(R125C)/K5 caused semi-lethality; adult survivors developed wing blisters and were flightless due to a lack of intercellular adhesion during wing heart development. This Drosophila model of EBS is valuable for the identification of pathways altered by mutant keratins and for the development of EBS therapies.