Ecdysone 20-Monooxygenases. In: Hoffmann J, Porchet M, editors. Biosynthesis, Metabolism and Mode of Action of Invertebrate Hormones. Berlin: Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 1984. pp. 227-33. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-69922-1_21]

Entomogenous fungus Nomuraea rileyi inhibits host insect molting by C22-oxidizing inactivation of hemolymph ecdysteroids

The entomogenous fungus Nomuraea rileyi reportedly secretes a proteinaceous substance inhibiting larval molt and metamorphosis in the silkworm Bombyx mori. We studied the possibility that N. rileyi controls B. mori development by inactivating hemolymph molting hormone, ecdysteroids. Incubation of ecdysone (E) and 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) in fungal-conditioned medium resulted in their rapid modification into products with longer retention times in reverse-phase HPLC. Each modified product from E and 20E was purified by HPLC, and identified by NMR as 22-dehydroecdysone and 22-dehydro-20-hydroxyecdysone. Some other ecdysteroids with a hydroxyl group at position C22 were also modified. Injection of the fungal-conditioned medium into Bombyx mori larvae in the mid-4th instar inhibited larval molt but induced precocious pupal metamorphosis, and its injection into 5th instar larvae just after gut purge blocked pupal metamorphosis. In hemolymph of injected larvae, E and 20E disappeared and, in turn, 22-dehydroecdysone and 22-dehydro-20-hydroxyecdysone accumulated. These results indicate that N. rileyi secretes a specific enzyme that oxidizes the hydroxyl group at position C22 of hemolymph ecdysteroids and prevents molting in B. mori larvae.

Characterization of ecdysteroid 26-hydroxylase: an enzyme involved in molting hormone inactivation

Insect molting hormone (ecdysteroid) inactivation occurs by several routes, including 26-hydroxylation and further oxidation to the 26-oic acids. Thus, the ecdysteroid 26-hydroxylase is a critical enzyme involved in precise regulation of ecdysteroid titers during insect development. Administration of the ecdysteroid agonist, RH-5849 (1,2-dibenzoyl, 1-tert-butyl hydrazone), or 20-hydroxyecdysone to the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, results in induction of ecdysteroid 26-hydroxylase activity in midgut mitochondria and microsomes. The biochemical and kinetic properties of the ecdysteroid 26-hydroxylase were investigated. The mitochondrial enzyme was found to have optimal activity at a pH of 7. 5 in a Hepes or sodium phosphate buffer at 30-37 degrees C. The apparent K(m) of the microsomal 26-hydroxylase for 20-hydroxyecdysone substrate was lower than that of the mitochondrial enzyme for either 20-hydroxyecdysone or ecdysone substrate. The V(max) of the 26-hydroxylase in both subcellular fractions was slightly higher using 20-hydroxyecdysone as substrate compared to ecdysone. Demonstration that activity of the mitochondrial 26-hydroxylase was inhibited by incubation in a CO (or N(2)) atmosphere, taken together with the requirement for reducing cofactor and the efficacy of the P450 inhibitors, ketoconazole and fenarimol, provided strong evidence that the hydroxylase is cytochrome P450-dependent. Indirect evidence suggested that the mitochondrial and microsomal ecdysteroid 26-hydroxylase(s) could exist in a less active dephosphorylated state or more active phosphorylated state. Using Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase to remove covalently bound phosphate groups, the activity of the 26-hydroxylase was decreased and, conversely, activity was enhanced using a cAMP-dependent protein kinase with appropriate cofactors. In addition, the protein kinase was shown to reactivate the 26-hydroxylase activity in alkaline phosphatase-treated fractions.

Ecdysone 20-monooxygenase in eggs of the silkworm, Bombyx mori: enzymatic properties and developmental changes

Ecdysone 20-monooxygenase in eggs of the silkworm Bombyx mori was characterized in relation to embryonic development. First, subcellular fractions were prepared by means of differential centrifugation, and analyzed using marker enzymes and antibodies against NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase. It was demonstrated that most ecdysone 20-monooxygenase activity was associated with microsomes, and that there was little or no intrinsic mitochondrial ecdysone 20-monooxygenase. Next, conditions for the measurement of ecdysone 20-monooxygenase activity were established for the microsomal fraction, and changes in the enzyme activity were measured in diapause eggs and non-diapause eggs during early embryogenesis. It was demonstrated that enzyme activity in diapause eggs remained at a low level, while that in the non-diapause eggs increased from the gastrula stage. The increase in egg ecdysone 20-monooxygenase activity was prevented by actinomycin D and alpha-amanitin, suggesting that gene transcription is required for eliciting an increase in ecdysone 20-monooxygenase activity.

Annelid cytochrome P-450

Both classes of Annelida--Polychaeta and Clitellata--have been shown to contain cytochrome P-450. The metabolism of a number of aromatic hydrocarbons, drugs and pesticides by annelids required oxygen and NADPH, and was inhibited by a variety of cytochrome P-450 inhibitors. A number of types I and II substrates bound to the cytochrome P-450 in polychaete microsomes to give typical types I and II binding spectra. These results suggest that xenobiotics in annelids are metabolized by a typical cytochrome P-450 mixed function oxygenase. In addition to xenobiotics, annelid cytochrome P-450 systems are likely to function in the biosynthesis and metabolism of sterols and hormones found in annelids, such as cholesterol, ecdysteroids and eicosanoids. The primary source of cytochrome P-450 isolated to date from annelids has been intestinal microsomes. Cytochrome P-450 concentrations in these microsomes varied from 8 to 580 pmol mg-1 of protein. The only cytochrome P-450s purified from annelids were the three isomers isolated from microsomes of the oligochaete, Lumbricus terrestris, whose molecular masses were 48,000, 51,000 and 53,000 Da. Work on the induction of cytochrome P-450 in polychaetes by exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or polychlorinated biphenyls has given conflicting results, since some groups found induction after such exposure, but others found no induction. One possible explanation may be exposure to natural soil and sediments inducers, e.g. plant alkaloids, during feeding. Since gene and protein sequences have yet to be carried out on the cytochrome P-450 of any annelid, the relationship of annelid cytochrome P-450s to the 74 families of P-450 so far found, remains to be carried out.

Ecdysone 20-hydroxylation and 3-epimerization in larvae of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar L.: tissue distribution and developmental changes

The potential for ecdysone metabolism was determined for various larval tissues of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. Homogenates of fat body, midguts, and Malpighian tubules, taken on different days during the second half of the fifth instar, were incubated with [(3)H]ecdysone, and the products were analyzed by reversed-phase and normal-phase HPLC. All tissues showed conversion to 20-hydroxyecdysone, and midguts also produced 3-epiecdysone. Ecdysone 20-monooxygenase (E20MO) activity in the fat body increased from a low level on day 5 to a peak on day 11, coinciding with the peak in the hemolymph ecdysteroid titer on the penultimate day of the instar. Midguts and Malpighian tubules showed E20MO activity only during the last 3 or 4days of the instar, with the highest activity also occurring on the penultimate day. For the midguts, the appearance of the E20MO coincided with the transition from larval to pupal tissue. No activity was detected in larval midguts. 3-Epiecdysone formation, however, was mainly found in larval midguts, with only marginal activity detectable in pupal midguts.