Trehalose inhibits the release of adipokinetic hormones from the corpus cardiacum in the African migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, at the level of the adipokinetic cells.

The effect of trehalose at various concentrations on the release of adipokinetic hormones (AKHs) from the adipokinetic cells in the glandular part of the corpus cardiacum of Locusta migratoria was studied in vitro. Pools of five corpora cardiaca or pools of five glandular parts of corpora cardiaca were incubated in a medium containing different concentrations of trehalose in the absence or presence of AKH-release-inducing agents. It was demonstrated that trehalose inhibits spontaneous release of AKH I in a dose-dependent manner. At a concentration of 80 mM, which is the concentration found in the hemolymph at rest, trehalose significantly decreased the release of AKH I induced by 100 microM locustatachykinin 1, 10 microM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) or high potassium concentrations. The specificity of the effect of trehalose was studied by incubating pools of corpora cardiaca with the non-hydrolyzable disaccharide sucrose or with glucose, the degradation product of trehalose, both in the presence and absence of 10 microM IBMX. Sucrose had no effect at all on the release of AKH I, whereas glucose strongly inhibited its release. The results point to the inhibitory effect of trehalose on the release of AKH I being exerted, at least partly, at the level of the adipokinetic cells, possibly after its conversion into glucose. The data presented in this study support the hypothesis that in vivo the relatively high concentration of trehalose (80 mM) at rest strongly inhibits the release of AKHs. At the onset of flight, the demand for energy substrates exceeds the amount of trehalose that can be mobilized from the fat body and consequently the trehalose concentration in the hemolymph decreases. This relieves the inhibitory effect of trehalose on the release of AKHs, which in turn mobilize lipids from the fat body.