昆虫体内章鱼胺和酪胺的研究进展

章鱼胺(octopamine, OA)和酪胺(tyramine, TA)在昆虫体内扮演着各种重要的生理角色。它们协调控制着昆虫的各种器官和行为, 如调节外周淋巴器官功能和影响昆虫的学习与记忆、昼夜节律等, 使得昆虫能够以合理的方式来应对外界刺激, 并被认为在功能上对应于脊椎动物体内的肾上腺素和去甲肾上腺素。虽然都是酪氨酸脱羧基产物, 且酪胺是章鱼胺的生物合成前体, 但它们都通过不同的G蛋白偶联受体在昆虫体内发挥不同的神经调控作用。近年来, 对昆虫体内章鱼胺和酪胺, 尤其是它们与对应受体作用的研究, 日益受到关注。本文对昆虫体内章鱼胺和酪胺的生物合成, 在神经和非神经组织中的分布, 被突触前结构的再摄取以及它们在昆虫体内的不同生理功能等方面的研究进展进行了综述, 特别对章鱼胺和酪胺受体基因的克隆、信号转导途径以及药理作用特性等相关研究的最新进展进行了详细评述。

Advances in insect octopamine and tyramine

Octopamine (OA) and tyramine (TA) play various important physiological roles in insects. They modulate various organs and behaviors in a coordinated way, such as peripheral organs, learning and memory, circadian rhythm, etc. OA and TA are considered to be the invertebrate counterparts of adrenaline and noradrenaline in vertebrates. They are decarboxylation products of the amino acid tyrosine. Although tyramine is the biological precursor of octopamine, both compounds are independent neurotransmitters, acting through distinct G protein-coupled receptors. In recent years, OA and TA in insects, especially their receptors, have attracted more studying. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on the biosynthesises of OA and TA, distributions in nervous and non nervous tissues, presynaptic reuptakes and various physiological functions in insects. Especially, the recent progress about gene cloning, signal transduction and pharmacological characterization of insect octopamine and tyramine receptors was reviewed in detail.