Ecdysone activity

Ecdysone, a highly hydroxylated steroid (Fig. 22-12), is a molting hormone for insects.331,332 Several molecules with ecdysone activity are known, and some of these are produced by certain plants. Although ecdysones are needed by insects for larval molting, they are toxic in excess. Perhaps plants protect themselves from insects by synthesizing these substances. 

Nuclear receptors for the steroid hormone ecdysone in Drosophila deserve special consideration, for several reasons. First, the insect hormone ecdysone (Fig. 11.2) was the first steroid hormone shown to act at the level of the gene, because it induced puffs in the giant chromosomes of the fruitfly. Secondly, ecdysone activates the developmental programme of Drosophila, and, finally, the sequences of the DNA-binding domain (DBD) of the Drosophila nuclear ecdysone receptor and of receptor homologues (for example, the COUP-TFs chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factors) are highly conserved and nearly identical in vertebrates and humans. 

Other citations from an American Chemical Society Chemical Abstracts Search (CAS) mention TCPM as a starting product for the manufacture of anthelmintic drugs [4] and anti-ecdysone activity of TCPM, similar to the agrochemical Triarimol [4]. 

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