昆虫中存在高等动物性激素吗？

Do insects have vertebrate sex hormones?

性激素在调控高等动物附性器官的发育和成熟,激发和维持第二性征以及增进两性细胞的结合和孕育能力等方面有不可替代的作用。性激素包括雌性激素和雄性激素,主要存在于哺乳动物中。随着检测技术的不断进步,越来越多的研究显示性激素并非高等动物所特有。包括一些昆虫在内的无脊椎动物中同样含有性激素,家蚕Bombyx mori、欧洲兔虱Spilopsyllus cuniculi等昆虫被高等动物性激素或者性激素类似物处理过后能产生一定的应答,且有研究报道昆虫中同样含有羟基固醇脱氢酶等高等动物催化合成性激素的某些酶类。本文以雌激素为例,在全面总结高等动物雌激素在昆虫中的鉴定、代谢、生理作用等相关研究的基础上,分析昆虫对高等动物性激素的合成、应答以及高等动物性激素在昆虫中作为昆虫"性激素"的可能性。雌激素作为高等动物的主要雌性激素,在很多昆虫组织或个体提取物中同样存在。目前的研究已经证实家蚕等昆虫能代谢雌激素,用雌激素处理某些昆虫后也能影响该昆虫的生理过程。雌激素对高等动物许多生理过程都具有显著的调节作用,但主要还是作为性激素调节性别相关的生理过程。为了明确脊椎动物雌激素在昆虫中是否存在且发挥着性激素功能,相关的研究可以主要从3个方面着手:(1)昆虫中能否检测到高等动物雌激素类似物存在;(2)雌激素是否也能让昆虫产生雌性相关的生理应答,从昆虫中提取的雌激素类似物能否令高等动物产生雌性特异的响应;(3)昆虫是否能够合成雌激素,体内是否存在参与催化合成雌激素的酶类。

Sex hormones including estrogens and androgens mainly exist in higher animals, especially in mammals. Sex hormones play an irreplaceable role in regulating the growth and maturation of accessory sex organs of higher animals, stimulating and maintaining their secondary sex characteristics, as well as enhancing the combination of sex cells and their breeding capability. With the application of more sensitive analytical technologies, more and more studies have shown that sex hormones are not limited to higher animals. Invertebrates including insects also contain sex hormones. Insects, e. g., Bombyx mori and Spilopsyllus cuniculi, treated by sex hormones or hormone analogues of higher animals could produce certain responses. Studies also showed that some enzymes in insects, e. g., hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases, are used to catalyze and synthesize sex hormones. Based on the examples of estrogens and a comprehensive summary about the identification, metabolism and physiological action of estrogens of higher animals in insects, we analyzed the synthesis and reaction of sex hormones in insects as well as the possibilities of sex hormones of higher animals acting as sex hormones of insects in this article. As the main estrin of higher animals, estrogens widely exist in organs and extracts of insects. Present studies have confirmed that insects such as B. mori could metabolize estrogens and using estrogens to treat some insects will also influence their physiological process. Estrogens have remarkable regulation function in many physiological processes of higher animals but they mainly function as sex hormones to adjust the