Biology Center, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
Annu Rev Entomol. 2013;58:181-204. doi: 10.1146/annurev-ento-120811-153700. Epub 2012 Sep 17.
The molecular action of juvenile hormone (JH), a regulator of vital importance to insects, was until recently regarded as a mystery. The past few years have seen an explosion of studies of JH signaling, sparked by a finding that a JH-resistance gene, Methoprene-tolerant (Met), plays a critical role in insect metamorphosis. Here, we summarize the recently acquired knowledge on the capacity of Met to bind JH, which has been mapped to a particular ligand-binding domain, thus establishing this bHLH-PAS protein as a novel type of an intracellular hormone receptor. Next, we consider the significance of JH-dependent interactions of Met with other transcription factors and signaling pathways. We examine the regulation and biological roles of genes acting downstream of JH and Met in insect metamorphosis. Finally, we discuss the current gaps in our understanding of JH action and outline directions for future research.
保幼激素（JH）是一种对昆虫至关重要的调节剂，其分子作用直到最近仍是一个谜。过去几年，由于发现 JH 抗性基因 Methoprene-tolerant（Met）在昆虫变态过程中起着关键作用，JH 信号转导的研究呈爆炸式增长。在这里，我们总结了最近获得的关于 Met 结合 JH 的能力的知识，该能力已被映射到一个特定的配体结合域，从而将这种 bHLH-PAS 蛋白确立为一种新型的细胞内激素受体。接下来，我们考虑了 Met 与其他转录因子和信号通路的 JH 依赖性相互作用的意义。我们研究了在昆虫变态过程中，JH 和 Met 下游基因的调控和生物学作用。最后，我们讨论了目前我们对 JH 作用的理解中的空白，并概述了未来研究的方向。
