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Science 310 (5748): 667-670

Copyright © 2005 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Antagonistic Actions of Ecdysone and Insulins Determine Final Size in Drosophila

Julien Colombani,1*{dagger} Laurence Bianchini,1* Sophie Layalle,1* Emilie Pondeville,2 Chantal Dauphin-Villemant,2 Christophe Antoniewski,3 Clément Carré,3 Stéphane Noselli,1 Pierre Léopold1{ddagger}

Abstract: All animals coordinate growth and maturation to reach their final size and shape. In insects, insulin family molecules control growth and metabolism, whereas pulses of the steroid 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) initiate major developmental transitions. We show that 20E signaling also negatively controls animal growth rates by impeding general insulin signaling involving localization of the transcription factor dFOXO and transcription of the translation inhibitor 4E-BP. We also demonstrate that the larval fat body, equivalent to the vertebrate liver, is a key relay element for ecdysone-dependent growth inhibition. Hence, ecdysone counteracts the growth-promoting action of insulins, thus forming a humoral regulatory loop that determines organismal size.

1 CNRS/University of Nice–Sophia Antipolis, UMR6543, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France.
2 CNRS FRE2852, Université P. et M. Curie, 7 quai St. Bernard, 75252 Paris, France.
3 Institut Pasteur, 25-28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris, France.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} Present address: Cancer Research UK, London Institute, 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX, UK.

{ddagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: leopold{at}unice.fr

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