骨を持たない昆虫にもカルシウムの貯蔵・放出を調節する仕組みが存在する

2025-10-23 筑波大学

<関連情報>

• https://www.tsukuba.ac.jp/journal/biology-environment/20251023000000.html
• https://www.tsukuba.ac.jp/journal/pdf/p20251023000000.pdf
• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09670-z

ショウジョウバエにおいてカルシウム動員を司る神経内分泌機構 Neuroendocrine control of calcium mobilization in the fruit fly

Naoki Okamoto,Yosuke Mizuno,Akira Watanabe,Hiroshi Kohsaka & Ryusuke Niwa
Nature  Published:22 October 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09670-z

Abstract

Calcium (Ca²⁺) is an essential mineral that must be strictly regulated to support numerous physiological activities^1,2. Extracellular fluid Ca²⁺ is regulated in vertebrates through endocrine systems that manage the vast Ca²⁺ reservoir in the bones^3,4,5,6, but the Ca²⁺ regulatory mechanisms used by invertebrates, which lack bones, remain largely unclear. Here we identified a potent peptide hormone, Capa, which is responsible for regulating extracellular fluid Ca²⁺ levels in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Capa-deficient larvae exhibit low haemolymph Ca²⁺ levels, resulting in reduced locomotion and induced elongated pupae that mimic those of animals reared on a Ca²⁺-free diet. Capa secreted from specific neurosecretory cells acts on specialized Ca²⁺ storage compartments in the anterior Malpighian tubules, elevating haemolymph Ca²⁺. This endocrine mechanism governing Ca²⁺ regulation in terrestrial invertebrates resembles the parathyroid hormone system in vertebrates.