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Background: Sterol is a very vital compound for most of the insects and mosquitoes to complete their life cycle. Unfortunately mosquitoes cannot synthesize the sterol, it depends on mammals for the same. Mosquitoes take the sterol from the plant decays during their larval stage in the form of phytosterol, which is then converted to cholesterol for further growth and reproduction. This conversion occurs with the help of the sterol carrier protein 2(SCP2). Methods: Mosquito populations are controlled by plant-based inhibitors, which inhibit sterol carrier protein (SCPI-Sterol carrier protein inhibitor) activity. In this article, we explain the methods of inhibiting Aedes aegypti SCP2 by insilico methods including natural inhibitor selection and filtrations by virtual screening and interaction studies. Results: In this study protein-ligand interactions were carried out with various phytochemicals, as a result of virtual screening Alpha-mangostin and Panthenol were found to be good analogs, and were allowed to dock with the mosquito cholesterol carrier protein AeSCP-2. Conclusion: Computational selections of SCPIs are highly reliable and novel methods for discovering new and more effective compounds to control mosquitoes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The midgut proteome of Drosophila melanogaster was compared in larvae fed dietary Bowman–Birk inhibitor (BBI) vs. larvae fed a control diet. By using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, nine differentially expressed proteins were observed, which were associated with enzymes or transport functions such as sterol carrier protein X (SCPX), ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, endopeptidase, receptor signalling protein kinase, ATP-dependent RNA helicase and α-tocopherol transport. Quantitative real-time PCR verified differential expression of transcripts coding for six of the proteins observed from the proteomic analysis. BBI evidently affects expression of proteins associated with protein degradation, transport and fatty acid catabolism. We then tested the hypothesis that SCPX was critical for the Drosophila third instars’ response to BBI treatment. Inhibition of SCPX caused the third instars to become more susceptible to dietary BBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]