Metabolic adjustment of Drosophila hemocyte number and sessility by an adipokine

In animals, growth is regulated by the complex interplay between paracrine and endocrine signals. When food is scarce, tissues compete for nutrients, leading to critical resource allocation and prioritization. Little is known about how the immune system maturation is coordinated with the growth of other tissues. Here, we describe a signaling mechanism that regulates the number of hemocytes (blood cells) according to the nutritional state of the Drosophila larva. Specifically, we found that the adipokine NimB5 is produced in the fat body upon nutrient scarcity downstream of metabolic sensors. NimB5 is then secreted and bind to hemocytes to down-regulate their proliferation and adhesion. Blocking this signaling loop results in conditional lethality when larvae are raised on a poor diet, due to excessive hemocyte numbers and insufficient energy storage. Similar regulatory mechanisms shaping the immune system in response to nutrient availability are likely to be widespread in animals.