1,720,993 research outputs found
Is it possible docking and scoring new ligands with few experimental data? Preliminary results on estrogen receptor as a case study
No full textEstrogens are steroid hormones playing critical roles in several physiological processes, which bind the estrogen receptors ERα and ERÎ2. Aim of this work is to analyze, by different docking experiments, the behavior of a set of compounds, mimicking estrogens activity, in order to understand the relationship between ERα and such new ligands. Main goal is to verify, using a widely tested scoring software procedure applied on a set of 10 compounds, the possibility to produce new lead candidate molecules in lack of, or with few experimental data. Our preliminary results reveal the significance of HINT software as a scoring function in docking methodology and specifically, as a mean for assessing the consistency of docking solutions. © 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved
Docking new ligands having in hand poor experimental data. Estrogen receptor as a case study
No full textRegulation of Anopheles gambiae male accessory gland genes influences postmating response in female
No full textIn Drosophila, the accessory gland proteins (Acps) secreted from the male accessory glands (MAGs) and transferred along with sperm into the female reproductive tract have been implicated in triggering postmating behavioral changes, including refractoriness to subsequent mating and propensity to egg laying. Recently, Acps have been found also in Anopheles, suggesting similar functions. Understanding the mechanisms underlying transcriptional regulation of Acps and their functional role in modulating Anoph-eles postmating behavior may lead to the identification of novel vector control strategies to reduce mosquito populations. We identified heat-shock factor (HSF) binding sites within the Acp promoters of male Anoph-eles gambiae and discovered three distinct Hsf isoforms; one being significantly up-regulated in the MAGs after mating. Through genome-wide transcription analysis of Hsf-silenced males, we observed significant down-regulation in 50% of the Acp genes if compared to control males treated with a construct directed against an unrelated bacterial sequence. Treated males retained normal life span and reproductive behavior compared to control males. However, mated wild-type females showed a 46% reduction of egg deposition rate and a 23% reduction of hatching rate (58% combined reduction of progeny). Our results highlight an unsus-pected role of HSF in regulating Acp transcription in A. gambiae and provide evidence that Acp down-regulation in males leads a significant reduction of progeny, thus opening new avenues toward the development of novel vector control strategies.—Dottorini, T., Persampieri, T.
A genome-wide analysis in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes reveals 46 male accessory gland genes, possible modulators of female behaviour
Full text linkGoing Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Sequential disruption of PM4 and MSP7 in Plasmodium berghei induces a progressive virulence-attenuated phenotype
No full textGepoclu: a software tool for identifying and analyzing gene positional clusters in large-scale gene expression analysis
No full textSilencing of the Hsf gene, the transcriptional regulator of A. gambiae male accessory glands, inhibits the formation of the mating plug in mated females and disrupts their monogamous behaviour
Full text linkDiscovering the molecular factors that shape the mating behaviour and the fertility of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae, the principal vector of human malaria, is regarded as critical to better understand its reproductive success as well as for identifying new leads for malaria control measures. In A. gambiae mating induces complex behavioural and physiological changes in the females, including refractoriness to subsequent mating and induction of egg-laying. In other insects including Drosophila a group of proteins named Accessory gland proteins (Acps), produced by males and transferred with sperm to the female reproductive tract, have been implicated in this post-mating response. Although Acps represent a set of promising candidates for unravelling the mating physiology, their role in inducing behavioural changes in mated A. gambiae females remains largely unknown. In this work, we demonstrate that a down-regulation of a large fraction of Acp genes via silencing of the Acp regulating transcription factor Hsf, abolishes the formation of mating plug in mated females and fails to induce refractoriness of mated female to subsequent inseminations. A significant fraction of females mated to Hsf silenced males (66%) failed to receive the mating plug though seminal fluid had been transferred as documented by the presence of spermatozoa in the female sperm storage organ. Furthermore, nearly all females (95%) mated to HSF-silenced males were re-inseminated when exposed to males carrying EGPF marked sperm. Our findings provide evidence showing that Acp genes regulated by the transcription factor HSF play a key role in the function of the male accessory glands
- …
