Y Chromosome Genes Affect Male Sensitivity to Microbial Infections.

The genders of vary in their sensitivities to microbial pathogens. While many of the immunity-related genes are located on the X chromosome, the polymorphisms within the Y chromosome were also shown to affect the immunity of flies. In this study, we investigated the necessity of individual genes on the Y chromosome (Y-genes) for male sensitivity to microbes.

Antifungal Drug Repurposing.

Control of fungal pathogens is increasingly problematic due to the limited number of effective drugs available for antifungal therapy. Conventional antifungal drugs could also trigger human cytotoxicity associated with the kidneys and liver, including the generation of reactive oxygen species. Moreover, increased incidences of fungal resistance to the classes of azoles, such as fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, or posaconazole, or echinocandins, including caspofungin, anidulafungin, or micafungin, have been documented.

Identification of Bithionol, Dichlorophen, and Miconazole as Antibacterial Agents against .

The rising prevalence of multidrug-resistant hospital-acquired infections has increased the need for new antibacterial agents. In this study, a library of 1586 FDA-approved drugs was screened against , a representative of the complex. Three compounds were found to have previously undiscovered antibacterial properties against : antifungal Miconazole, anthelminthic Dichlorophen, and Bithionol.

Repurposing Clinically Approved Drugs for the Treatment of , a Surrogate for .

Of the numerous infectious diseases afflicting humans, anthrax disease, caused by , poses a major threat in its virulence and lack of effective treatment. The currently lacking standards of care, as well as the lengthy drug approval process, demonstrate the pressing demand for treatment for infections. The present study screened 1586 clinically approved drugs in an attempt to identify repurposable compounds against , a relative strain that shares many physical and genetic characteristics with .

Anthrax toxin component, Protective Antigen, protects insects from bacterial infections.

Anthrax is a major zoonotic disease of wildlife, and in places like West Africa, it can be caused by Bacillus anthracis in arid nonsylvatic savannahs, and by B. cereus biovar anthracis (Bcbva) in sylvatic rainforests. Bcbva-caused anthrax has been implicated in as much as 38% of mortality in rainforest ecosystems, where insects can enhance the transmission of anthrax-causing bacteria.

Identification of glucocorticoid receptor in Drosophila melanogaster.

Background: Vertebrate glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is an evolutionary-conserved cortisol-regulated nuclear receptor that controls key metabolic and developmental pathways. Upon binding to cortisol, GR acts as an immunosuppressive transcription factor. Drosophila melanogaster, a model organism to study innate immunity, can also be immunosuppressed by glucocorticoids.

Identification of clinically approved small molecules that inhibit growth and affect transcript levels of developmentally regulated genes in the African trypanosome.

Trypanosoma brucei are unicellular parasites endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa that cause fatal disease in humans and animals. Infection with these parasites is caused by the bite of the tsetse fly vector, and parasites living extracellularly in the blood of infected animals evade the host immune system through antigenic variation. Existing drugs for Human and Animal African Trypanosomiasis are difficult to administer and can have serious side effects.