Primary role of adipokinetic hormone in the formation of low density lipophorin in locusts.

It was demonstrated that the primary action of adipokinetic hormone (AKH) is to stimulate calcium ion uptake into the fat body cell, subsequently causing the formation of diacylglycerol from triacylglycerol. Furthermore, it was also shown that AKH is not directly responsible for increased diacylglycerol uptake by lipophorin from the fat body. The diacylglycerol level of the fat body was found to increase by an average of 2.4-fold after 90 min of incubation in the presence of AKH. Calcium ion was also found to be essential in the action of AKH on the fat body. Supporting this is the observation that calcium ionophore mimics the AKH action in vivo and in vitro; injection of calcium ionophore into adult locusts as well as incubation of hemolymph with fat body and ionophore caused the transformation of high density lipophorin to low density lipophorin. When the fat body, preincubated with or without AKH, was reincubated with hemolymph, diacylglycerol uptake by lipophorin occurred for both incubations. In some sets of experiments, low density lipophorin particles were formed even in the hemolymph that was incubated with fat body preincubated without AKH, indicating that AKH is not directly responsible for its formation. Calcium ion was found not to be necessary for the diacylglycerol uptake process to occur.