Summary of the ecdysone regulatory cascade. Summary of the putative regulatory cascade of E. granulosus adult worm development (A). Bile acid (BA) is transported into the cytoplasm, and is then transported into the nucleus where it binds FXR/DVR/RXR to stimulate cell proliferation and growth. The BA-FXR/RXR complex or EC (ecdysone) may also regulate the transcriptional activity of EgHR3 to regulate adult worm development. Summary of the ecdysone regulatory cascade, with the 11 transcription factors known to act as classic early regulators during the onset of Drosophila metamorphosis (B) [12,13,37]. Large black bands indicate the known protein–protein interactions.