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Updated: Aug 3, 2026

Insulin Injection and Hemolymph Extraction to Measure Insulin Sensitivity in Adult Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: June 30, 2011
Nutrition-dependent control of insect development by insulin-like peptides
Naoki Okamoto1, Naoki Yamanaka1
1Department of Entomology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, Center for Disease Vector Research, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Abstract:
In metazoans, members of the insulin-like peptide (ILP) family play a role in multiple physiological functions in response to the nutritional status. ILPs have been identified and characterized in a wide variety of insect species. Insect ILPs that are mainly produced by several pairs of medial neurosecretory cells in the brain circulate in the hemolymph and act systemically on target tissues. Physiological and biochemical studies in Lepidoptera and genetic studies in the fruit fly have greatly expanded our knowledge of the physiological functions of ILPs. Here, we outline the recent progress of the structural classification of insect ILPs and overview recent studies that have elucidated the physiological functions of insect ILPs involved in nutrient-dependent growth during development.
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