title: Drosophila molting neurohormone bursicon is a heterodimer and the natural agonist of the orphan receptor DLGR2.
abstract: Bursicon is a neurohumoral agent responsible for tanning and hardening of the cuticle and expansion of the wings during the final phase of insect metamorphosis. Although the hormonal activity was described more than 40 years ago, the molecular nature of bursicon has remained elusive. We identify here Drosophila bioactive bursicon as a heterodimer made of two cystine knot polypeptides. This conclusion was reached in part from the unexpected observation that in the genome of the honey bee, the orthologs of the two Drosophila proteins are predicted to be fused in a single open reading frame. The heterodimeric Drosophila protein displays bursicon bioactivity in freshly enclosed neck-ligated flies and is the natural agonist of the orphan G protein-coupled receptor DLGR2.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Biologie Humaine et Moléculaire (IRIBHM), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Campus Erasme, 808 Route de Lennik, B-1070 Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: Fernando M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Mendive
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Van Loy
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Claeysen
authors.forename: Jeroen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Poels
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Cornelis J P
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Grimmelikhuijzen
authors.forename: Gilbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vassart
authors.forename: Jozef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vanden Broeck
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D019281:Dimerization; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism*; D007447:Invertebrate Hormones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000819:agonists*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D007447:Invertebrate Hormones; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; C002295:bursicon