Synchronizing Drosophila larvae with the salivary gland reporter Sgs3-GFP for discovery of phenotypes in the late third instar stage.

The larval stage of the Drosophila melanogaster life cycle is characterized by rapid growth and nutrient storage that occur over three instar stages separated by molts. In the third instar, the steroid hormone ecdysone drives key developmental processes and behaviors that occur in a temporally-controlled sequence and prepare the animal to undergo metamorphosis. Accurately staging Drosophila larvae within the final third instar is critical due to the rapid developmental progress at this stage, but it is challenging because the rate of development varies widely across a population of animals even if eggs are laid within a short period of time.

Do Social Support and Loneliness Influence Emerging Adults' Mental Health during the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Youths' mental health is at a crisis level, with mental health problems doubling in the US since the pandemic began. To compound the mental health crisis, there is a global loneliness epidemic, with emerging adults worldwide experiencing some of the highest rates. One study with two phases examined the influence of social support and loneliness on mental health in US emerging adults during the pandemic, including changes in these relationships over one year.

Insulin signaling in development.

Nutrient intake is obligatory for animal growth and development, but nutrients alone are not sufficient. Indeed, insulin and homologous hormones are required for normal growth even in the presence of nutrients. These hormones communicate nutrient status between organs, allowing animals to coordinate growth and metabolism with nutrient supply.

Regulating metabolism to shape immune function: Lessons from Drosophila.

Infection with pathogenic microbes is a severe threat that hosts manage by activating the innate immune response. In Drosophila melanogaster, the Toll and Imd signaling pathways are activated by pathogen-associated molecular patterns to initiate cellular and humoral immune processes that neutralize and kill invaders. The Toll and Imd signaling pathways operate in organs such as fat body and gut that control host nutrient metabolism, and infections or genetic activation of Toll and Imd signaling also induce wide-ranging changes in host lipid, carbohydrate and protein metabolism.

Correction: Dilp-2-mediated PI3-kinase activation coordinates reactivation of quiescent neuroblasts with growth of their glial stem cell niche.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.

Innate immune signaling in Drosophila shifts anabolic lipid metabolism from triglyceride storage to phospholipid synthesis to support immune function.

During infection, cellular resources are allocated toward the metabolically-demanding processes of synthesizing and secreting effector proteins that neutralize and kill invading pathogens. In Drosophila, these effectors are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are produced in the fat body, an organ that also serves as a major lipid storage depot. Here we asked how activation of Toll signaling in the larval fat body perturbs lipid homeostasis to understand how cells meet the metabolic demands of the immune response.

Adipocyte lipolysis drives acute stress-induced insulin resistance.

Stress hyperglycemia and insulin resistance are evolutionarily conserved metabolic adaptations to severe injury including major trauma, burns, or hemorrhagic shock (HS). In response to injury, the neuroendocrine system increases secretion of counterregulatory hormones that promote rapid mobilization of nutrient stores, impair insulin action, and ultimately cause hyperglycemia, a condition known to impair recovery from injury in the clinical setting. We investigated the contributions of adipocyte lipolysis to the metabolic response to acute stress.

Dilp-2-mediated PI3-kinase activation coordinates reactivation of quiescent neuroblasts with growth of their glial stem cell niche.

Dietary nutrients provide macromolecules necessary for organism growth and development. In response to animal feeding, evolutionarily conserved growth signaling pathways are activated, leading to increased rates of cell proliferation and tissue growth. It remains unclear how different cell types within developing tissues coordinate growth in response to dietary nutrients and whether coordinated growth of different cell types is necessary for proper tissue function.

The Toll Signaling Pathway Targets the Insulin-like Peptide Dilp6 to Inhibit Growth in Drosophila.

Chronic enteropathogen infection in early childhood reduces circulating insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) levels and restricts growth. Pathogen-derived molecules activate host Toll-like receptors to initiate the immune response, but whether this pathway contributes to growth inhibition is unclear. In Drosophila, activation of Toll receptors in larval fat body suppresses whole-animal growth.

Considerations in addressing the opioid epidemic and chronic pain within the USA.

This article reviews the complexities of the opioid epidemic, considering recent research involving the current state of the opioid epidemic; chronic pain and its role in the crisis; the properties of opioids and how they interact with human neurobiology; the effectiveness and risks of opioids as a treatment for chronic pain; opioid addiction and dependence; and pharmacological and psychological interventions for opioid addiction, opioid dependence, and chronic pain management. Opioid abuse can be reduced with the availability and access to treatment facilities for opioid detoxification; using interdisciplinary treatment models for chronic pain, opioid addiction and dependence; conducting more research in the areas of opioid addiction and opioid dependence; and shifting to an increase in nonpharmacological, less invasive treatments for pain.

Innate Immune Signaling in Drosophila Blocks Insulin Signaling by Uncoupling PI(3,4,5)P Production and Akt Activation.

In obese adipose tissue, Toll-like receptor signaling in macrophages leads to insulin resistance in adipocytes. Similarly, Toll signaling in the Drosophila larval fat body blocks insulin-dependent growth and nutrient storage. We find that Toll acts cell autonomously to block growth but not PI(3,4,5)P production in fat body cells expressing constitutively active PI3K.

Measurement of Carbon Dioxide Production from Radiolabeled Substrates in Drosophila melanogaster.

The power of Drosophila genetics is increasingly being applied to questions of hormone signaling and metabolism and to the development of models of human disease in this organism. Sensitive methods for measurements of parameters such as metabolic rates are needed to drive the understanding of physiology and disease in small animals such as the fruit fly. The method described here assesses fuel oxidation in small numbers of adult flies fed food containing trace amounts of (14)C-labeled substrates such as glucose or fatty acid.

Nurses' Perspectives on the Process of Attaining Baby-Friendly Designation.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global initiative that aims to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. This study explores and describes the process of attaining Baby-Friendly designation from nurses' perspectives. A purposive sampling design was used to recruit registered nurse participants in a large, safety-net, tertiary care facility.

AMPK supports growth in Drosophila by regulating muscle activity and nutrient uptake in the gut.

The larval phase of the Drosophila life cycle is characterized by constant food intake, resulting in a two hundred-fold increase in mass over four days. Here we show that the conserved energy sensor AMPK is essential for nutrient intake in Drosophila. Mutants lacking dAMPKalpha are small, with low triglyceride levels, small fat body cells and early pupal lethality.

The immune response attenuates growth and nutrient storage in Drosophila by reducing insulin signaling.

Innate immunity is the primary and most ancient defense against infection. Although critical to survival, coordinating protection against a foreign organism is energetically costly, creating the need to reallocate substrates from nonessential functions, such as growth and nutrient storage. However, the mechanism by which infection or inflammation leads to a reduction in energy utilization by these dispensable processes is not well understood.

Differential requirement for steroidogenic factor-1 gene dosage in adrenal development versus endocrine function.

The importance of steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) gene dosage in endocrine function is evidenced by phenotypes associated with the heterozygous state in mice and humans. Here we examined mechanisms underlying SF-1 haploinsufficiency and found a striking reduction (12-fold) in SF-1 heterozygous (+/-) adrenocortical size at embryonic day (E) 12. Loss of one SF-1 allele led to a selective decrease in adrenal precursors within the adrenogonadal primordium at E10.

Tissue growth and remodeling of the embryonic and adult adrenal gland.

The adrenal gland provides a model system for the study of tissue remodeling in endocrine physiology. For example, proper adrenal development requires proliferation of the adrenogonadal primordia, separation of adrenal and gonadal precursors, and cell migration that unites the adrenal cortex and adrenal medulla. In the adult, normal adrenal function is assured by the adrenal gland's unique capacity for growth in response to both tissue injury and physiological demand.