Growth-controlling molluscan neurons produce the precursor of an insulin-related peptide.

Insulin and related peptides are key hormonal integrators of growth and metabolism in vertebrates. There is little biochemical evidence for insulin-related peptides in invertebrates, apart from insects for which definitive structural information on these peptides (prothoracicotropic hormone, PTTH) has recently been obtained. We report here the first complete complementary DNA-derived primary structure of a preproinsulin-related protein from identified neurons in an invertebrate, the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis. We have demonstrated by in situ hybridization that transcription of the gene for this molluscan insulin-related peptide (MIP) occurs in the cerebral light-green cells, giant neuroendocrine cells involved in the control of growth, as well as in a pair of neuroendocrine cells called the canopy cells. The insulin-related peptide precursor has the same overall structure as its vertebrate counterparts. The discovery of insulin-related peptides in invertebrates substantiates the evidence for a widespread and early evolutionary origin of the insulin superfamily.