Reactive Oxygen Species Extend Insect Life Span Using Components of the Insulin-Signaling Pathway
Wei-Hua Xu*, Xiao-Shuai Zhang
School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
[email protected]
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are well-known accelerants of aging, but, paradoxically, we show that physiological levels of ROS extend life span in pupae of the moth Helicoverpa armigera, resulting in the dormant state of diapause. This developmental switch appears to operate through a variant of the conventional insulin-signaling pathway, as evidenced by the facts that Akt, p-Akt, and PRMT1 are elevated by ROS, but not insulin, and that high levels of p-Akt fail to phosphorylate FoxO through PRMT1-mediated methylation. These results suggest a distinct signaling pathway culminating in the elevation of FoxO, which in turn promotes the extension of life span characteristic of diapause.
Acknowledgements: NSFC to W.H, Xu.
Key Words: insulin signaling, Akt, PRMT1, insects, diapause
Wei-Hua Xu*, Xiao-Shuai Zhang
School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
[email protected]
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are well-known accelerants of aging, but, paradoxically, we show that physiological levels of ROS extend life span in pupae of the moth Helicoverpa armigera, resulting in the dormant state of diapause. This developmental switch appears to operate through a variant of the conventional insulin-signaling pathway, as evidenced by the facts that Akt, p-Akt, and PRMT1 are elevated by ROS, but not insulin, and that high levels of p-Akt fail to phosphorylate FoxO through PRMT1-mediated methylation. These results suggest a distinct signaling pathway culminating in the elevation of FoxO, which in turn promotes the extension of life span characteristic of diapause.
Acknowledgements: NSFC to W.H, Xu.
Key Words: insulin signaling, Akt, PRMT1, insects, diapause