gondii by ultrastructural analysis are associated with damage to cellular membranes, such as mitochondrial swelling and rupture of the parasite plasma membrane. Another possibility, which deserves further investigation, is that azasterols may have an effect on methylation during phospholipid biosynthesis ( Palmié-Peixoto et al., 2006). Similarly, the effect of azasterols against

the bloodstream form of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, which utilises host sterols ( Coppens and Courtoy, 2000), also demonstrated that, these compounds can inhibit the growth of these protozoa by a mechanism of action other than inhibition of ergosterol biosynthesis selleck chemicals llc ( Gros et al., 2006b). Our results demonstrate that azasterols are very active and selective against T. gondii in vitro and suggest further investigation of this class of molecules as potential agents against toxoplasmosis. This study was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) and Programa de Núcleos

de Excelência-Pronex-Faperj-CNPq. “
“Acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7) is a key enzyme in the nervous system, responsible for the rapid hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at cholinergic synapses (Rosenberry, 1975). Organophosphate compounds (OP) target the AChE enzyme as its primary site of action, phosphorylating the active site serine to block the hydrolysis of acetylcholine, leading to the death of the insect (Menozzi et al., 2004). Point mutations in the AChE gene Androgen Receptor Antagonist purchase have been described for resistant strains of different dipteran species (Mutero et al., 1994, Walsh et al., 2001, Vontas et al., else 2002 and Temeyer et al., 2008). Most of these mutations in the AChE gene are conserved in these species and combinations of several point mutations in this enzyme have already been found in several alleles, where they induced higher levels of organophosphate resistance (Mutero et al., 1994). The New World screwworm (NWS), Cochliomyia hominivorax, is one of the most

important myiasis-causing flies in the Neotropics, characterized by the ability of its larvae to develop in the flesh of vertebrates, causing severe economic losses to livestock industry ( Hall and Wall, 1995). Although the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) was successful for NWS eradication in North and Central America ( Galvin and Wyss, 1996), throughout its current geographical distribution the control of this species has relied on the application of chemical insecticides, which normally leads to the selection of resistant individuals. Although there are few reports regarding resistance in NWS ( Veríssimo, 2003, Coronado and Kowalski, 2009 and Robinson et al., 2009), mutations in the carboxylesterase E3 gene are shown to involve a general form of OP resistance in Lucilia cuprina ( Newcomb et al., 1997) and Musca domestica ( Claudianos et al.