Ecdysone-regulated puff genes 2000.

The Ashburner model for the hormonal control of polytene chromosome puffing has provided a strong foundation for understanding the basic mechanisms of steroid-regulated gene expression (Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 38 (1974) 655). According to this model, the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (referred here as ecdysone) directly induces the expression of a small set of early regulatory genes. These genes, in turn, induce a much larger set of late target genes that play a more direct role in controlling the biological responses to the hormone. The recent characterization of two early puff genes, E63-1 and E23, and three late puff genes, D-spinophilin, L63, and L82, provide further confirmation of the Ashburner model. In addition, these studies provide exciting new directions for our understanding of ecdysone signaling. Overexpression studies of E63-1 implicate this gene in directing calcium-dependent salivary gland glue secretion. In contrast, overexpression of E23 indicates that this ABC transporter family member may negatively regulate ecdysone signaling by actively transporting the hormone out of target cells. Finally, genetic studies of the L63 and L82 late genes reveal unexpected possible functions for ecdysone in controlling developmental timing and growth. This review surveys the recent characterization of these ecdysone-inducible genes and provides an overview of how they expand our understanding of ecdysone functions during development.     

A microarray analysis of genes involved in relating egg production to nutritional intake in Drosophila melanogaster

Egg chambers of Drosophila are reabsorbed under conditions of nutritional shortage by inducing apoptosis at stages 8 and 9, midway through oogenesis. Nutritional shortage leads to an increase in ecdysone concentration in flies. Apoptosis at stage 8/9 is also induced by 20-hydroxyecdysone injection into the females maintained with adequate nutrition. The expression pattern in the ovary of some ecdysone response genes, E75A, BR-C, is different according to the nutritional environment and the overexpression of these genes induces apoptosis. Apoptosis is suppressed by Juvenile hormone analog treatment of females under nutritional shortage. We predict nutritional and stress response genes control hormone levels and the increase in ecdysone concentration in the flies following starvation induces the ovarian apoptosis. We therefore used a microarray approach to identify the genes involved in receiving the nutritional signal from the environment and translating it in the ovary, thus initiating and executing apoptosis.     

蜕皮激素诱导下家蚕CYP3基因家族的表达变化

为了研究家蚕Bombyx mori CYP3家族基因经蜕皮激素诱导后的表达变化, 用蜕皮激素溶液（2×10^-3 μg/μL）浸泡的桑叶喂食家蚕B. mori 5龄幼虫, 以不用蜕皮激素处理的桑叶喂食家蚕为对照, 采用双跟踪标定定量PCR（dual-spike-in qPCR）方法, 检测在蜕皮激素诱导下家蚕中肠和脂肪体内CYP3基因家族的转录水平。结果表明: 与对照相比, 在蜕皮激素诱导下家蚕幼虫体内脂肪体中CYP302, CYP306和CYP339的转录水平分别上升了191.4, 7.4和421倍, 在中肠中变化不显著; 其余基因转录水平变化不明显或检测不到转录活性。结果说明CYP339基因有可能参与家蚕蜕皮激素的代谢, 这为进一步研究P450基因与内源物质的关系提供理论基础。     

Steroid Hormone Control of Cell Death and Cell Survival: Molecular Insights Using RNAi

The insect steroid hormone ecdysone triggers programmed cell death of obsolete larval tissues during metamorphosis and provides a model system for understanding steroid hormone control of cell death and cell survival. Previous genome-wide expression studies of Drosophila larval salivary glands resulted in the identification of many genes associated with ecdysone-induced cell death and cell survival, but functional verification was lacking. In this study, we test functionally 460 of these genes using RNA interference in ecdysone-treated Drosophila l(2)mbn cells. Cell viability, cell morphology, cell proliferation, and apoptosis assays confirmed the effects of known genes and additionally resulted in the identification of six new pro-death related genes, including sorting nexin-like gene SH3PX1 and Sox box protein Sox14, and 18 new pro-survival genes. Identified genes were further characterized to determine their ecdysone dependency and potential function in cell death regulation. We found that the pro-survival function of five genes (Ras85D, Cp1, CG13784, CG32016, and CG33087), was dependent on ecdysone signaling. The TUNEL assay revealed an additional two genes (Kap-α3 and Smr) with an ecdysone-dependent cell survival function that was associated with reduced cell death. In vitro, Sox14 RNAi reduced the percentage of TUNEL-positive l(2)mbn cells (p<0.05) following ecdysone treatment, and Sox14 overexpression was sufficient to induce apoptosis. In vivo analyses of Sox14-RNAi animals revealed multiple phenotypes characteristic of aberrant or reduced ecdysone signaling, including defects in larval midgut and salivary gland destruction. These studies identify Sox14 as a positive regulator of ecdysone-mediated cell death and provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the ecdysone signaling network governing cell death and cell survival.     

Cytochrome P450 CYP307A1/Spook: a regulator for ecdysone synthesis in insects

The prothoracic gland (PG) has essential roles in synthesizing and secreting a steroid hormone called ecdysone that is critical for molting and metamorphosis of insects. However, little is known about the genes controlling ecdysteroidogenesis in the PG. To identify genes functioning in the PG of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, we used differential display PCR and focused on a cytochrome P450 gene designated Cyp307a1. Its expression level positively correlates with a change in the hemolymph ecdysteroid titer. In addition, Drosophila Cyp307a1 is encoded in the spook locus, one of the Halloween mutant family members showing a low ecdysone titer in vivo, suggesting that Cyp307a1 is involved in ecdysone synthesis. While Drosophila Cyp307a1 is expressed in the early embryos and adult ovaries, the expression is not observed in the PGs of embryos or third instar larvae. These results suggest a difference in the ecdysone synthesis pathways during larval development in these insects.     

Identification of 20-hydroxyecdysone-inducible genes from larval brain of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, and their expression analysis

The insect brain secretes prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH), which stimulates the prothoracic gland to synthesize ecdysone. The active metabolite of ecdysone, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), works through ecdysone receptor (EcR) and ultraspiracle (USP) to initiate molting and metamorphosis by regulating downstream genes. Previously, we found that EcR was expressed in the PTTH-producing neurosecretory cells (PTPCs) in larval brain of the silkworm Bombyx mori, suggesting that PTPCs function as the master cells of development under the regulation of 20E. To gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of the 20E control of PTPCs, we performed a comprehensive screening of genes induced by 20E using DNA microarray with brains of day-2 fifth instar silkworm larvae. Forty-one genes showed greater than twofold changes caused by artificial application of 20E. A subsequent semiquantitative screening identified ten genes upregulated by 20E, four of which were novel or not previously identified as 20E-response genes. Developmental profiling determined that two genes, UP4 and UP5, were correlated with the endogenous ecdysteroid titer. Whole-mount in situ hybridization showed exclusive expression of these two genes in two pairs of cells in the larval brain in response to 20E-induction, suggesting that the cells are PTPCs. BLAST searches revealed that UP4 and UP5 are Bombyx homologs of vrille and tarsal-less, respectively. The present study identifies 20E-induced genes that may be involved in the ecdysone signal hierarchies underlying pupal-adult development and/or the 20E regulation of PTPCs.     

Dynamic localisation of KR-H during an ecdysone response in Drosophila

The propagation of a hormonal response following an increase in titre involves intensive cross-talk between the products of the key regulatory genes. The Kr-h gene of Drosophila is a modulator of both the embryonic and metamorphic hierarchies of ecdysone responsive genes, but its mode of action is puzzling as mutants have both quantitative and qualitative (timing) effects on the ecdysone responses. We have used an antibody against KR-H to follow its distribution in larval tissues as they prepare for metamorphosis. While in most tissues protein levels remain stable, its distribution within salivary gland cells changes throughout the late larval ecdysone response and the ensuing prepupal period. We show that, at the chromosomal level, KR-H localisation is dynamic and that the protein is recruited to, and released from, loci harbouring an important subset of the known regulatory genes as the response advances. Such behaviour is most likely a conserved characteristic of hormonal responses.     

RNA干扰对家蚕丝腺蜕皮激素相关基因表达的影响

昆虫变态发育过程中,蜕皮激素通过一系列的激素相关转录因子进行信号的转导和放大,从而完成对生长变态发育的调控,其中蜕皮激素受体(EcR)及转录因子BR-C和E74A可能作为早期因子发挥作用.为了研究这3个早期转录因子在鳞翅目昆虫中的功能,本研究采用体外合成dsRNA的方法,将合成的dsRNA分别注射熟蚕期的家蚕Bomby...     

br regulates the expression of the ecdysone biosynthesis gene npc1

The growth and metamorphosis of insects are regulated by ecdysteroid hormones produced in the ring gland. Ecdysone biosynthesis-related genes are both highly and specifically expressed in the ring gland. However, the intrinsic regulation of ecdysone biosynthesis has received little attention. Here we used the Drosophila npc1 gene to study the mechanism of ring gland-specific gene expression. npc1 is important for sterol trafficking in the ring gland during ecdysone biosynthesis. We have identified a conserved ring gland-specific cis-regulatory element (RSE) in the npc1 promoter using promoter fusion reporter analysis. Furthermore, genetic loss-of-function analysis and in vitro electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that the ecdysone early response gene broad complex (br) is a vital factor in the positive regulation of npc1 ring gland expression. Moreover, br also affects the ring gland expression of many other ecdysone biosynthetic genes as well as torso and InR, two key factors in the regulation of ecdysone biosynthesis. These results imply that ecdysone could potentially act through its early response gene br to achieve positive feedback regulation of ecdysone biosynthesis during development.