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- Terenius, Olle, et al.
(author)
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RNA interference in Lepidoptera : An overview of successful and unsuccessful studies and implications for experimental design
- 2011
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In: Journal of insect physiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-1910 .- 1879-1611. ; 57:2, s. 231-245
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Gene silencing through RNA interference (RNAi) has revolutionized the study of gene function, particularly in non-model insects. However, in Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) RNAi has many times proven to be difficult to achieve. Most of the negative results have been anecdotal and the positive experiments have not been collected in such a way that they are possible to analyze. In this review, we have collected detailed data from more than 150 experiments including all to date published and many unpublished experiments. Despite a large variation in the data, trends that are found are that RNAi is particularly successful in the family Saturniidae and in genes involved in immunity. On the contrary, gene expression in epidermal tissues seems to be most difficult to silence. In addition, gene silencing by feeding dsRNA requires high concentrations for success. Possible causes for the variability of success in RNAi experiments in Lepidoptera are discussed. The review also points to a need to further investigate the mechanism of RNAi in lepidopteran insects and its possible connection to the innate immune response. Our general understanding of RNAi in Lepidoptera will be further aided in the future as our public database at http://insectacentral.org/RNAi will continue to gather information on RNAi experiments.
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| 2. |
- Liu, Jianghong, et al.
(author)
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Medical record validation of maternal recall of pregnancy and birth events from a twin cohort
- 2013
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In: Twin Research and Human Genetics. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 1832-4274 .- 1839-2628. ; 16:4, s. 845-860
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study aims to assess the validity of maternal recall for several perinatal variables 8-10 years after pregnancy in a twin sample. Retrospective information was collected 8-10 years after the delivery event in a cohort of mothers from the University of Southern California Twin Study (N = 611) and compared with medical records for validity analysis. Recall of most variables showed substantial to perfect agreement (κ = 0.60-1.00), with notable exceptions for specific medical problems during pregnancy (κ ≤ 0.40) and substance use when mothers provided continuous data (e.g., number of cigarettes per day; r ≤ 0.24). With the exception of delivery method, neonatal intensive care unit admission, birth weight, neonatal information, and post-delivery complications were also recalled with low accuracy. For mothers of twins, maternal recall is generally a valid measure for perinatal variables 10 years after pregnancy. However, caution should be taken regarding variables such as substance use, medical problems, birth length, and post-delivery complications.
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| 3. |
- Zhao, Xin, et al.
(author)
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Discovery of Highly Potent Pinanamine-Based Inhibitors against Amantadine- and Oseltamivir-Resistant Influenza A Viruses
- 2018
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In: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0022-2623 .- 1520-4804. ; 61:12, s. 5187-5198
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Influenza pandemic is a constant major threat to public health caused by influenza A viruses (IAVs). IAVs are subcategorized by the surface proteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), in which they are both essential targets for drug discovery. While it is of great concern that NA inhibitor oseltamivir resistant strains are frequently identified from human or avian influenza virus, structural and functional characterization of influenza HA has raised hopes for new antiviral therapies. In this study, we explored a structure-activity relationship (SAR) of pinanamine-based antivirals and discovered a potent inhibitor M090 against amantadine-resistant viruses, including the 2009 H1N1 pandemic strains, and oseltamivir-resistant viruses. Mechanism of action studies, particularly hemolysis inhibition, indicated that M090 targets influenza HA and it occupied a highly conserved pocket of the HA(2) domain and inhibited virus-mediated membrane fusion by "locking" the bending state of HA(2) during the conformational rearrangement process. This work provides new binding sites within the HA protein and indicates that this pocket may be a promising target for broad-spectrum anti-influenza A drug design and development.
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