Ecdysteroids represent a large class of polyhydroxylated steroids which, due to their anabolic properties, are marketed as dietary supplements. Some ecdysteroids also act as important hormones in arthropods, where they regulate molting, development, and reproduction and many of these insects are miniature organisms that contain submicroliter levels of circulating biofluids. Analysis of ecdysteroids is further complicated by their very low abundance, large fluctuations during development, and difficult access to a pooled sample, which is important for quantitative measurements. In this work, we propose a new method that overcomes the described difficulties and allows validated quantification of four ecdysteroids in minimal amounts of biological material. After methanolic extraction, detectability of the ecdysteroids is increased 16- to 20-fold by conversion to their 14,15-anhydrooximes. These are further purified by pipette tip solid-phase extraction on a three-layer sorbent and subjected to HPLC-MS/MS analysis. Full validation was achieved using hemolymph from larvae of the firebug Pyrrhocoris apterus as a blank matrix and by the determination of ecdysteroids in a single Drosophila larva. The lower limit of quantifications for the four target ecdysteroids (20-hydroxyecdysone, ecdysone, makisterone A, and 2-deoxyecdysone) were 0.01; 0.1; 0.05; and 0.025 pg·ml-1 (20; 200; 100; 50 fmol ml-1), respectively, with very good accuracy, precision (expressed as relative standard deviation <15%) and recoveries (96%-119.9%). The application potential of the new method was demonstrated by quantification of ecdysteroids in various biological materials including human serum.
- Klíčová slova
- arthropods, dietary supplementation, ecdysteroid hormones, human body fluid, quantification, submilligram sample amount, ultratrace HPLC-MS analysis,
- MeSH
- ekdysteroidy * analýza krev chemie MeSH
- hemolymfa chemie metabolismus MeSH
- kapalinová chromatografie-hmotnostní spektrometrie MeSH
- larva MeSH
- tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie * metody MeSH
- vysokoúčinná kapalinová chromatografie metody MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- validační studie MeSH
- Názvy látek
- ekdysteroidy * MeSH
Activation of immune cells requires the remodeling of cell metabolism in order to support immune function. We study these metabolic changes through the infection of Drosophila larvae by parasitoid wasp. The parasitoid egg is neutralized by differentiating lamellocytes, which encapsulate the egg. A melanization cascade is initiated, producing toxic molecules to destroy the egg while the capsule also protects the host from the toxic reaction. We combined transcriptomics and metabolomics, including 13C-labeled glucose and trehalose tracing, as well as genetic manipulation of sugar metabolism to study changes in metabolism, specifically in Drosophila hemocytes. We found that hemocytes increase the expression of several carbohydrate transporters and accordingly uptake more sugar during infection. These carbohydrates are metabolized by increased glycolysis, associated with lactate production, and cyclic pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), in which glucose-6-phosphate is re-oxidized to maximize NADPH yield. Oxidative PPP is required for lamellocyte differentiation and resistance, as is systemic trehalose metabolism. In addition, fully differentiated lamellocytes use a cytoplasmic form of trehalase to cleave trehalose to glucose and fuel cyclic PPP. Intracellular trehalose metabolism is not required for lamellocyte differentiation, but its down-regulation elevates levels of reactive oxygen species, associated with increased resistance and reduced fitness. Our results suggest that sugar metabolism, and specifically cyclic PPP, within immune cells is important not only to fight infection but also to protect the host from its own immune response and for ensuring fitness of the survivor.
- MeSH
- buněčná diferenciace MeSH
- Drosophila melanogaster metabolismus parazitologie MeSH
- Drosophila metabolismus parazitologie MeSH
- glukosa * metabolismus MeSH
- glykolýza MeSH
- hemocyty * metabolismus MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita MeSH
- larva metabolismus parazitologie MeSH
- odolnost vůči nemocem MeSH
- pentózofosfátový cyklus * MeSH
- sršňovití metabolismus fyziologie MeSH
- trehalosa * metabolismus MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Macrophage-mediated phagocytosis and cytokine production represent the front lines of resistance to bacterial invaders. A key feature of this pro-inflammatory response in mammals is the complex remodeling of cellular metabolism towards aerobic glycolysis. Although the function of bactericidal macrophages is highly conserved, the metabolic remodeling of insect macrophages remains poorly understood. Here, we used adults of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the metabolic changes that occur in macrophages during the acute and resolution phases of Streptococcus-induced sepsis. Our studies revealed that orthologs of Hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) and Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) are required for macrophage activation, their bactericidal function, and resistance to infection, thus documenting the conservation of this cellular response between insects and mammals. Further, we show that macrophages employing aerobic glycolysis induce changes in systemic metabolism that are necessary to meet the biosynthetic and energetic demands of their function and resistance to bacterial infection.
- Klíčová slova
- D. melanogaster, HIF1α, Warburg effect, aerobic glycolysis, bacterial infection, immunology, immunometabolism, inflammation, polarization of macrophages,
- MeSH
- aerobióza MeSH
- Drosophila imunologie MeSH
- glykolýza * MeSH
- makrofágy imunologie metabolismus MeSH
- Streptococcus imunologie MeSH
- streptokokové infekce imunologie MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
