Insect neuropeptides are a group of brain neuro-regulatory factors, which plays very important roles in growth and development, molting and metamorphosis, as well as mating and reproduction. The neuropeptide F (NPF), a multi-functional neuropeptide, is one of neuropeptides identified in numerous insect species, which plays important roles in feeding, metabolism, courtship, reproduction, aggression, ethanol sensitivity, locomotor circadian rhythms, learning and stress responses. These roles of NPF are implemented through NPF receptors (NPFR). The NPFR1, a G protein-coupled receptor with 7 transmembrane domains, is one of these receptors and is found to be important for NPF regulation. The NPF usually is consisted of around 36–40 amino acid residues, but the short neuropeptide F (sNPF) consisted of 7–16 amino acid residues have also been found in some insects. In this review, the structure and function of both NPF and sNPF in insects are discussed.

昆虫神经肽是一组大脑神经调节因子，在生长发育，蜕皮和变态以及交配和繁殖中起着非常重要的作用。神经肽F（NPF）是一种多功能神经肽，是在众多昆虫物种中鉴定出的神经肽之一，在进食，新陈代谢，求爱，繁殖，侵略，乙醇敏感性，运动性昼夜节律，学习和应激反应中发挥重要作用。NPF的这些作用是通过NPF受体（NPFR）来实现的。NPFR1是具有7个跨膜结构域的G蛋白偶联受体，是这些受体之一，被发现对NPF调节很重要。NPF通常由约36–40个氨基酸残基组成，但是在一些昆虫中也发现了由7-16个氨基酸残基组成的短神经肽F（sNPF）。在这篇综述中，讨论了NPF和sNPF在昆虫中的结构和功能。