Abstract：
:In silico docking analysis reported here suggests that insect cellular cytoskeletal beta-actin could be the target of Azadirachtin A (Aza-the principle bioactive compound of neem seeds). The best docking energy of -40.09 kcal/mol at 8.73 A RMSD and predicted hydrogen bond between Arg210 and carboxymethyl group of Aza accompanied with seven hydrophobic interactions in the proposed binding site strongly support this hypothesis. This is of specific interest due to the non-affinity of Aza to mammalian beta-actins under the same set of conditions, although beta-actins across the species are highly conserved. Our results show that few scattered amino acid changes have caused significant steric hindrance in the binding pocket for mammalian beta-actin, causing a reverse orientation of Aza. These results suggest a model to support the recently observed biological effects caused by Aza in Drosophila cytoskeletal elements and explain why Aza is highly specific to insects than mammals.
journal_name
Insect Biochem Mol Bioljournal_title
Insect biochemistry and molecular biologyauthors
Pravin Kumar R,Manoj MN,Kush A,Annadurai RSdoi
10.1016/j.ibmb.2007.03.010subject
Has Abstractpub_date
2007-06-01 00:00:00pages
635-40issue
6eissn
0965-1748issn
1879-0240pii
S0965-1748(07)00063-Xjournal_volume
37pub_type
杂志文章abstract：:Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis, is a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi. Once known as an endemic health problem of poor rural populations in Latin American countries, it has now spread worldwide. The parasite is transmitted by triatomine bugs, of which...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.06.005
更新日期：2016-02-01 00:00:00
abstract：:While O(2)-binding hemoglobin-like proteins are present in many insects, prominent amounts of hemoglobin have only been found in a few species. Backswimmers of the genera Anisops and Buenoa (Notonectidae) have high concentrations of hemoglobin in the large tracheal cells of the abdomen. Oxygen from the hemoglobin is d...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2012.04.007
更新日期：2012-09-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Insects taste nonvolatile chemicals through gustatory receptors (Grs) and make choices for feeding, mating, and oviposition. To date, genome projects have identified 69 Gr genes in the silkworm, Bombyx mori; however, the expression sites of these Grs remain to be explored. In this study, we used reverse transcription ...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.12.008
更新日期：2016-03-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Phenol oxidase (PO) is known to play an important role in defense mechanisms in insect immunity. It is present as a zymogen in insect hemolymph, and can be activated by a specific proteolytic reaction that is stimulated by microbial cell wall components. The pro-phenol oxidase (pro-PO) purified from the larval hemolym...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/s0965-1748(97)00066-0
更新日期：1997-10-01 00:00:00
abstract：:The insect pests are real threat to farmers as they affect the crop yield to a great extent. The use of chemical pesticides for insect pest control has always been a matter of concern as they pollute the environment and are also harmful for human health. Bt (Bacillus thuringensis) technology helped the farmers to get ...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2016.07.009
更新日期：2016-10-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Degenerate oligonucleotides were designed on the basis of conserved amino acid sequences in the DNA binding domains of the ecdysone receptors from Drosophila melanogaster (DmEcR) and Chironomus tentans (CtEcR). Using these oligonucleotides a fragment encoding part of the DNA binding domain of the Lucilia cuprina ecdys...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/s0965-1748(97)00019-2
更新日期：1997-06-01 00:00:00
abstract：:GABA-activated RDL receptors are the insect equivalent of mammalian GABAA receptors, and play a vital role in neurotransmission and insecticide action. Here we clone the pore lining M2 region of the Varroa mite RDL receptor and show that it has 4 atypical residues when compared to M2 regions of most other insects, inc...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2014.10.002
更新日期：2014-12-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Juvenile hormone (JH) regulates reproductive maturation in insects; therefore interruption of JH biosynthesis has been considered as a strategy for the development of target-specific insecticides. The corpora allata (CA) from mosquitoes is highly specialized to supply variable levels of JH, which are linked to ovarian...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2014.05.001
更新日期：2014-08-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Analyzing the chemosensory organs of the moth Heliothis virescens, three proteins belonging to the family of insect chemosensory proteins (CSPs) have been cloned; they are called HvirCSP1, HvirCSP2 and HvirCSP3. The HvirCSPs show about 50% identity between each other and 30-76% identity to CSPs from other species. Ove...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/s0965-1748(01)00063-7
更新日期：2001-11-01 00:00:00
abstract：:It has long been suggested that phenoloxidases (POs) play key roles in various physiological functions in insects, e.g., cuticular sclerotization, wound healing, egg tanning and melanotic encapsulation of pathogens. Here we report that a mosquito PO, designated Armigeres subalbatus prophenoloxidase III (As-pro-PO III)...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2008.10.007
更新日期：2009-02-01 00:00:00
abstract：:We characterize here a cDNA from the ixodid tick Haemaphysalis longicornis, which encodes an asparaginyl endopeptidase, legumain (HlLgm), that was present as a functional molecule in the midgut of this tick. Endogenous HlLgm was detected as a 38-kDa antigen in H. longicornis extracts and was seen throughout all develo...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2007.04.010
更新日期：2007-09-01 00:00:00
abstract：:The increasing resistance level of insect pest species is a major concern to agriculture worldwide. The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, is one of the most important pest species due to being highly polyphagous, geographically widespread, and resistant towards many chemical classes of insecticides. We previously...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2014.07.006
更新日期：2014-10-01 00:00:00
abstract：:The brain neuropeptide prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) stimulates a rapid increase in ecdysteroid hormone synthesis that is accompanied by general and specific increases in protein synthesis, including that of a 70 kDa cognate heat shock protein (hsc 70). To further understand the possible roles of hsc 70, hsc 70 cD...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/s0965-1748(00)00031-x
更新日期：2000-07-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Accessory gland peptide 76A, (Acp76A), belongs to the serpin superfamily of proteins (serine protease inhibitors). Acp76A is a secreted protein synthesized only in the Drosophila melanogaster adult male accessory gland. Accumulation of the protein in males is first detected with polyclonal antibodies at 1 day after ec...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/0965-1748(94)00055-m
更新日期：1995-02-01 00:00:00
abstract：:In this overview, some of the more significant recent developments in bioengineering natural products from insects with use or potential use in modern medicine are described, as well as in utilisation of insects as models for studying essential mammalian processes such as immune responses to pathogens. To date, insect...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章,评审
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2011.05.007
更新日期：2011-10-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Silk secreted by the larvae of Hydropsyche angustipennis (Trichoptera) contains serpins HaSerp2A and HaSerp2B that are homologous to serpin 2 known from several lepidopterans and some other insects. The gene HaSerp2A is 2684 bp downstream from the HaSerp2B gene. The genes possess identical exon/intron segmentation (9 ...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2012.01.008
更新日期：2012-05-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Previous genetic and pharmacological studies suggest that knockdown-resistance (kdr) to pyrethroid insecticides likely results from a mutation(s) in the para sodium channel gene. In this study, para sodium channel genes from an insecticide-susceptible German cockroach strain, CSMA, and a kdr-type German cockroach stra...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/s0965-1748(96)00082-3
更新日期：1997-02-01 00:00:00
abstract：:The insect molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) plays a central role in regulating gene expression during development and metamorphosis. In many Lepidoptera, the pro-hormone 3-dehydroecdysone (3DE), synthesized from cholesterol in the prothoracic gland, is rapidly converted to ecdysone (E) by a hemolymph reductase...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2005.12.002
更新日期：2006-03-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Podisus nigrispinus Dallas (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a predator insect with potential applications in biological control because both nymphs and adults have been shown to prey on other insect pests by injection of toxic salivary gland contents. This study identified non-proteinaceous compounds with insecticidal act...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.11.006
更新日期：2016-01-01 00:00:00
abstract：:The Nematocera infraorder Culicomorpha is believed to have descended from bloodfeeding ancestors over 200 million years ago, generating bloodfeeding and non-bloodfeeding flies in two superfamilies, the Culicoidea-containing the mosquitoes, the frog-feeding midges, the Chaoboridae, and the Dixidae-and the Chironomoidea...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2013.10.006
更新日期：2014-01-01 00:00:00
abstract：:The insect of Eupolyphaga sinensis Walker has been used as traditional anti-thrombosis medicine without bleeding risk for several hundreds years in eastern countries. Our previous work has identified a bi-functional anti-thrombosis protein containing both direct-acting fibrin(ogen)olytic and plasminogen-activating act...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2012.04.001
更新日期：2012-08-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Orcokinin (NFDEIDRSGFGFN) and orcokinin homologues are crustacean peptides eliciting potent myotropic effects in gut tissues. Through HPLC purification of brain extract of the cockroach Blattella germanica, we isolated the first insect orcokinin (NFDEIDRSGFNS). This insect orcokinin-like peptide do not show myotropic ...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2004.07.005
更新日期：2004-11-01 00:00:00
abstract：:This analysis considers the structural evidence of a ligand-binding function of the nuclear receptor ultraspiracle (USP). The positions and nature of residues in the ligand-binding domain of USP from six higher insects is evaluated in comparison to the function of conserved residues vertebrate receptors that have been...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章,评审
doi：10.1016/s0965-1748(00)00038-2
更新日期：2000-08-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Potato synthesises high levels of proteinase inhibitors in response to insect attack. This can adversely affect protein digestion in the insects, leading to reduced growth, delayed development and lowered fecundity. Colorado potato beetle overcomes this defence mechanism by changing the composition of its digestive pr...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2004.01.003
更新日期：2004-04-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Current techniques for genetic engineering of the silkworm Bombyx mori genome utilize transposable elements, which result in positional effects and insertional mutagenesis through random insertion of exogenous DNA. New methods for introducing transgenes at specific positions are therefore needed to overcome the limita...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2013.08.001
更新日期：2013-11-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Fourteen different cDNA fragments encoding serine proteinases were isolated by reverse transcription-PCR from cotton boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) larvae. A large diversity between the sequences was observed, with a mean pairwise identity of 22% in the amino acid sequence. The cDNAs encompassed 11 trypsin-like sequ...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2004.06.001
更新日期：2004-09-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Sulfakinin (SK) is a sulfated insect neuropeptide that is best known for its function as a satiety factor. It displays structural and functional similarities with the vertebrate peptides gastrin and cholecystokinin. Peptidomic studies in multiple insects, crustaceans and arachnids have revealed the widespread occurren...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.03.008
更新日期：2015-06-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Members of the pacifastin family have been characterized as serine peptidase inhibitors (PI), but their target enzyme(s) are unknown in insects. So far, the structural and biochemical characteristics of pacifastin-like PI have only been studied in locusts. Here we report the molecular identification and functional cha...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2009.03.005
更新日期：2009-07-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Eicosanoids play crucial roles in mediating insect immune responses. In vertebrates, phospholipase A2 (PLA2) releases arachidonic acid (AA) from phospholipids (PLs) for biosynthesis of various eicosanoids. However, little AA is found in PLs of lepidopteran insects. Spodoptera exigua, a lepidopteran insect, is known to...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2019.103179
更新日期：2019-08-01 00:00:00
abstract：:Inflammation is an important vertebrate defense mechanism against ecto-parasites for which ticks have evolved numerous mechanisms of modulation. AM-33 and TSGP4, related lipocalins from the soft ticks Argas monolakensis and Ornithodoros savignyi bind cysteinyl leukotrienes with high affinity as measured by isothermal ...
journal_title：Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
pub_type： 杂志文章
doi：10.1016/j.ibmb.2008.06.002
更新日期：2008-09-01 00:00:00
