title: Allatotropin-like peptide in Malpighian tubules: insect renal tubules as an autonomous endocrine organ.
abstract: Malpighian tubules (MTs) are recognised as the main excretory organ in insects, ensuring water and mineral balance. Haematophagous insects incorporate with each meal a large quantity of blood, producing a particularly large volume of urine in a few hours. In the present study, we report the presence of an allatotropin-like (AT-like) peptide in MTs of Triatoma infestans (Klug). The AT-like content in MTs decreased during the first hours after blood-intake, correlating with the post-prandial diuresis. In vivo artificial dilution of haemolymph showed a similar effect. Isolated MTs challenged with a diluted saline solution resulted in an autonomous and reversible response of the organ regulating the quantity of peptide released to the medium, and suggesting that MTs synthesise the AT-like peptide. While MTs are recognised as the target for several hormones, our results corroborate that they also have the ability to produce and secrete a hormone in an autonomous way.
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Estudios Genomicos (CREG), Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Parque Tecnologico Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Maria Soledad
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.forename: Jorge Rafael
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ronderos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004231:Diuresis; D004703:Endocrine System / Q000502:physiology; D006458:Hemolymph / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007301:Insect Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D008317:Malpighian Tubules / Q000502:physiology*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014224:Triatoma / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007301:Insect Hormones; D009479:Neuropeptides; C050669:allatotropin