Succinylation enables IDE to act as a hub of larval tissue destruction and adult tissue reconstruction during insect metamorphosis.

Metamorphosis is an important way for insects to adapt to the environment. In this process, larval tissue destruction regulated by 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) and adult tissue reconstruction regulated by insulin-like peptides (ILPs) occur simultaneously, but the detailed mechanism is still unclear. Here, the results of succinylome, subcellular localization, and protein interaction analysis show that non-succinylated insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) localizes in the cytoplasm, binds to insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2-like), and degrades it.