Background: Deoxyribozymes (Dzs) can play a role as gene expression inhibitors at mRNA level. Among Dzs, the 10-23 deoxyribozyme has significant potentials for treatment of diseases. Designed Dz includes a catalytic core made of 15 deoxyribonucleotides and two binding arms consisted of 6-12 nucleotides for site specific binding to target RNA and hydrolysis. The enzyme has characteristic feature...

Resistance of Anopheles gambiae to organophosphate and carbamate insecticides was first reported in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. Subsequent studies revealed that it resulted from a single point mutation in the oxyanion hole of the acetycholinesterase enzyme (ace-1(R) mutation). We investigated the distribution and prevalence of the ace-1(R) mutation in An. gambiae s.l. populations from seven loc...

In response to years of intense selection pressure by organophosphate insecticides, several different insecticide resistance mechanisms have evolved in natural populations of the mosquito Culex pipiens. We examined interactions between two of the most important mechanisms using a four-compartment model of insecticide pharmacokinetics. The joint effect of different mechanisms of resistance can b...

Epistasis is the nonadditive interaction between different loci which contribute to a phenotype. Epistasis between independent loci conferring insecticide resistance is important to investigate as this phenomenon can shape the rate that resistance evolves and can dictate the level of resistance in the field. The evolution of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes is a growing and world-wide probl...

A strain of Mexican Boophilus microplus (Cz) collected near Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, exhibits a moderate, but significant, level of permethrin resistance. Unlike other highly permethrin resistant strains, the Cz strain does not have a mutation within the sodium channel gene that results in target-site insensitivity. However, the Cz strain possesses a substantial increase in general and ...

Accounting for approximately 11% of all malaria cases, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is central to malaria elimination efforts. To support vector control interventions in DRC, we characterized the dynamics and impact of insecticide resistance in major malaria vectors in 2015. High Plasmodium infection rates were recorded in Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus, with Plasmodium ...

Androgen receptor (AR) is a major therapeutic target that plays pivotal roles in prostate cancer (PCa) and androgen insensitivity syndromes. We previously proposed that compounds recruited to ligand-binding domain (LBD) surfaces could regulate AR activity in hormone-refractory PCa and discovered several surface modulators of AR function. Surprisingly, the most effective compounds bound preferen...