title: Drosophila miR-14 regulates insulin production and metabolism through its target, sugarbabe.
abstract: Energy homeostasis depends on insulin signaling in metazoans. Insulin levels reflect the nutritional status of the animal to control levels of circulating sugar and regulate storage of resources in the form of glycogen and fat. Over the past several years, evidence has begun to accumulate that insulin production and secretion, as well as cellular responsiveness to insulin, are subject to regulation by microRNAs. Here we present evidence that miR-14 acts in the insulin-producing neurosecretory cells in the adult Drosophila brain to control metabolism. miR-14 acts in these cells through its direct target, sugarbabe. sugarbabe encodes a predicted zinc finger protein that regulates insulin gene expression in the neurosecretory cells. Regulation of sugarbabe levels by nutrients and by miR-14 combines to allow the fly to manage resource mobilization in a nutritionally variable environment.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore 138673.
authors.forename: Jishy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Varghese
authors.forename: Sing Fee
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D007328:Insulin / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000502:physiology*; D009489:Neurosecretion; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D007328:Insulin; C555944:MIRN14 microRNA, Drosophila; D035683:MicroRNAs; D014157:Transcription Factors; C469740:sug protein, Drosophila