Ampleford E J, Steel C G
Gen Comp Endocrinol. 1986 Sep;63(3):353-61. doi: 10.1016/0016-6480(86)90134-6.
The titer of moulting hormones (ecdysteroids) in fifth instar male Rhodnius displays a gradual decline throughout the week preceding ecdysis when animals are maintained in constant light (LL). Multiple sampling of haemolymph from the same animal reveals a constant rate of decline with no increases in titer observed. However, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20HE) provokes increases in the titer of ecdysteroids which occur between 18 and 27 hr after injection. Multiple injections of 20HE provoke regular changes in the rate of decline of the titer. When 20HE is injected into animals reared in LL, a rhythm in the titer of ecdysteroids with an initial periodicity of approximately 28 hr is provoked which is reduced to 24 hr by 72-96 hr after injection. Injection of antiserum to ecdysteroids elicits an immediate rapid oscillation in titer similar to that observed in light/dark (L/D) cycles. Therefore injections of 20HE or antiserum to ecdysteroids can provoke a rhythm in the titer of ecdysteroids in animals reared in LL. Rhythms in ecdysteroid titer would appear to result from the interactions of synthetic and catabolic systems, both of which would appear to be able to act in a timed fashion. Such rhythmic modulation of ecdysteroid titer may provide time cues to the circadian system timing ecdysis. Thus the gated ecdysis rhythm observed after 20HE or antiserum injections may be a response to induced modulation of the ecdysteroid titer.
在恒定光照（LL）条件下饲养的雄性吸血蝽若虫五龄期，蜕皮激素（蜕皮甾类）的滴度在蜕皮前一周内呈逐渐下降趋势。对同一动物的血淋巴进行多次采样显示，其滴度呈恒定下降速率，未观察到滴度升高。然而，20-羟基蜕皮酮（20HE）可促使蜕皮甾类滴度在注射后18至27小时之间升高。多次注射20HE会使滴度下降速率发生规律性变化。当将20HE注射到在LL条件下饲养的动物体内时，会引发蜕皮甾类滴度的节律变化，其初始周期约为28小时，注射后72 - 96小时降至24小时。注射蜕皮甾类抗血清会引发滴度的立即快速振荡，类似于在光/暗（L/D）周期中观察到的情况。因此，注射20HE或蜕皮甾类抗血清可在LL条件下饲养的动物中引发蜕皮甾类滴度的节律变化。蜕皮甾类滴度的节律似乎是由合成和分解代谢系统的相互作用导致的，这两个系统似乎都能够以定时方式起作用。这种蜕皮甾类滴度的节律调节可能为昼夜节律系统提供时间线索，以确定蜕皮时间。因此，在注射20HE或抗血清后观察到的定时蜕皮节律可能是对诱导的蜕皮甾类滴度调节的一种反应。
