Hartfelder K
Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
Braz J Med Biol Res. 2000 Feb;33(2):157-77. doi: 10.1590/s0100-879x2000000200003.
Juvenile hormone (JH) exerts pleiotropic functions during insect life cycles. The regulation of JH biosynthesis by neuropeptides and biogenic amines, as well as the transport of JH by specific binding proteins is now well understood. In contrast, comprehending its mode of action on target organs is still hampered by the difficulties in isolating specific receptors. In concert with ecdysteroids, JH orchestrates molting and metamorphosis, and its modulatory function in molting processes has gained it the attribute "status quo" hormone. Whereas the metamorphic role of JH appears to have been widely conserved, its role in reproduction has been subject to many modifications. In many species, JH stimulates vitellogenin synthesis and uptake. In mosquitoes, however, this function has been transferred to ecdysteroids, and JH primes the ecdysteroid response of developing follicles. As reproduction includes a variety of specific behaviors, including migration and diapause, JH has come to function as a master regulator in insect reproduction. The peak of pleiotropy was definitely reached in insects exhibiting facultative polymorphisms. In wing-dimorphic crickets, differential activation of JH esterase determines wing length. The evolution of sociality in Isoptera and Hymenoptera has also extensively relied on JH. In primitively social wasps and bumble bees, JH integrates dominance position with reproductive status. In highly social insects, such as the honey bee, JH has lost its gonadotropic role and now regulates division of labor in the worker caste. Its metamorphic role has been extensively explored in the morphological differentiation of queens and workers, and in the generation of worker polymorphism, such as observed in ants.
保幼激素（JH）在昆虫生命周期中发挥着多效性功能。目前，人们已经清楚地了解了神经肽和生物胺对JH生物合成的调节作用，以及特定结合蛋白对JH的运输作用。相比之下，由于难以分离出特定受体，对其在靶器官上的作用模式的理解仍然受到阻碍。与蜕皮激素协同作用，JH协调蜕皮和变态过程，其在蜕皮过程中的调节功能使其获得了“维持现状”激素的属性。虽然JH的变态作用似乎广泛保守，但其在生殖中的作用却经历了许多变化。在许多物种中，JH刺激卵黄原蛋白的合成和摄取。然而，在蚊子中，这一功能已转移到蜕皮激素上，而JH则启动发育中卵泡的蜕皮激素反应。由于生殖包括多种特定行为，如迁徙和滞育，JH已成为昆虫生殖中的主要调节因子。在表现出兼性多态性的昆虫中，多效性达到了顶峰。在翅二型蟋蟀中，JH酯酶的差异激活决定了翅膀长度。等翅目和膜翅目社会性的进化也广泛依赖于JH。在原始社会性黄蜂和大黄蜂中，JH将优势地位与生殖状态整合在一起。在高度社会性昆虫，如蜜蜂中，JH已失去其促性腺作用，现在调节工蜂群体中的分工。其变态作用已在蜂王和工蜂的形态分化以及工蜂多态性的产生中得到广泛研究，如在蚂蚁中观察到的那样。
