Journal of Experimental Biology· 2026Q1· Review
Toward a comparative endocrinology of aging: insights from insects
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- 2026year
Short summary
Adult insulin signaling stimulates juvenile hormone (JH) production, which then systemically regulates aging and lifespan in insects, a mechanism also seen in C. elegans and potentially analogous to mammalian systems.
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Key points
- Adult insulin signaling is allatotropic, stimulating juvenile hormone (JH) production from the corpora allata.
- JH acts systemically to regulate aging and lifespan by controlling specific proteins, translation, and proteostasis.
- The insulin-JH interaction couples or decouples reproduction and longevity, explaining variations in social insects and genetic mutants.
- Similar insulin-regulated life history syndromes are found in the nematode C. elegans.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Insulin-like signaling modulates aging and lifespan in insects. Here, we discuss a novel view of this control: insulin hormone in the adult regulates the production of the sesquiterpenoid juvenile hormone (JH) that in turn acts as the systemic regulator of aging and lifespan. Work in Drosophila establishes that insulin signaling is allatotropic - it stimulates the production and secretion of JH from the corpora allata. JH then exerts systemic effects on adult survival through its control of specific proteins, translation and proteostasis. The interdependent functions of insulin and JH allow reproduction and longevity to be coupled in many insects or decoupled in social insects with long-lived queens and in some long-lived genetic mutants of Drosophila. Features of these insulin-regulated life history syndromes are also found in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Recognizing the systemic role of JH in aging provides grounds to search for analogous systems in mammals that might modulate human lifespan.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Experimental Biology, 2026 · DOI ↗
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AgingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology