Ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone has roles in blood digestion, egg maturation and metabolism in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

Ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone (OEH) was isolated and identified from the head extracts of Aedes aegypti females on the basis of its gonadotropic activity. The present study shows that OEH stimulates blood digestion in the midgut by upregulating serine protease activity and egg maturation by activating vitellogenin synthesis. OEH also decreases the trehalose level and increases the glycogen level in sugar fed, decapitated females. Previous work has shown that insulin-like peptide 3 activates the same processes thus suggesting redundant regulation of these key reproductive and metabolic processes.