Svoboda J A, Thompson M J, Herbert E W, Shortino T J, Szczepanik-Vanleeuwen P A
Lipids. 1982 Mar;17(3):220-5. doi: 10.1007/BF02535107.
The honey bee, Apis mellifera, does not convert C28 and C29 phytosterols to cholesterol as found in most previous studies of phytophagous or omnivorous insects, but instead the workers and queens selectively transfer 24-methylenecholesterol, sitosterol and isofucosterol from their endogenous sterol pools to the brood larvae regardless of the sterol in the worker diet. Administering radiolabeled sterols by feeding and injection has made it possible to trace this selective transfer through a second generation of the honey bee. In further comparative sterol metabolism studies, the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, was shown to be capable of dealkylating and converting a radiolabeled C29 dietary sterol ([14C]sitosterol) to cholesterol. Metabolic studies with several radiolabeled dietary sterols and an inhibitor of steroid metabolism in the yellow fever mosquito further verified this capability.
与之前大多数关于植食性或杂食性昆虫的研究结果不同，蜜蜂（西方蜜蜂）不会将C28和C29植物甾醇转化为胆固醇，而是工蜂和蜂王会从其内源甾醇池中选择性地将24-亚甲基胆固醇、谷甾醇和异岩藻甾醇转移到幼虫体内，而不考虑工蜂饮食中的甾醇种类。通过喂食和注射放射性标记的甾醇，得以追踪这种选择性转移在蜜蜂第二代中的情况。在进一步的甾醇代谢比较研究中，发现埃及伊蚊能够将放射性标记的C29膳食甾醇（[14C]谷甾醇）脱烷基并转化为胆固醇。对埃及伊蚊进行的几项放射性标记膳食甾醇和一种类固醇代谢抑制剂的代谢研究进一步证实了这种能力。
