A brain circuit that synchronizes growth and maturation revealed through Dilp8 binding to Lgr3

Abstract

Brain keeps body size and shape in check Animal systems show amazing left-right symmetry—think of how our legs or arms, or the legs or wings of an insect, are matched in size and shape. Environmental insults and growth defects can challenge these developmental programs. In order to limit the resultant variation, juvenile organisms buffer variability through homeostatic mechanisms, so that the correct final size is attained. Vallejo et al. report that the Drosophila brain mediates such homeostatic control via an insulin-like peptide Dilp8 binding to the relaxin hormone receptor Lgr3. Lgr3 neurons distribute this information to other neuronal populations to adjust the hormones ecdysone, insulin, and juvenile hormone in a manner that stabilizes body and organ size. Science , this issue p. 10.1126/science.aac6767