Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39865399›Full record

ArticlePest management science2025

Deployment and transcriptional evaluation of nitisinone, an FDA-approved drug, to control bed bugs.

Marcos Sterkel, Joshua Tompkin, Coby Schal, Luiza R M Guerra, Grasielle C D Pessoa, Pedro L Oliveira, Joshua B Benoit

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pest management science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Marcos SterkelCentro Regional de Estudios Genómicos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CENEXA, CONICET, La Plata, Argentina.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2266-9616
Joshua TompkinDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Coby SchalDepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7195-6358
Luiza R M GuerraDepartamento de Parasitologia-ICB, Laboratório de Entomologia Médica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1469-3082
Grasielle C D PessoaDepartamento de Parasitologia-ICB, Laboratório de Entomologia Médica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Pedro L OliveiraInstituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Joshua B BenoitDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4018-3513

Funding

Mosquito hydration status as a mechanism that alters pre-feeding host interactions and post-feeding physiologyR01AI148551 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · PI BENOIT, JOSH B., XIAO, YANYU · 2020 to 2024
$2.1M
tRNA modifications as critical components of insect blood feeding and reproductionR21AI176098 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · PI BENOIT, JOSH B., LIMBACH, PATRICK A · 2023 to 2024
$446k
Influence of sleep-like states on mosquito behavior and physiologyR21AI166633 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · PI BENOIT, JOSH B., VINAUGER, CLEMENT · 2022 to 2023
$429k
CONICETFondo para la Investigación Científica y TecnológicaFulbright Commission ArgentinaNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesNIAID NIH HHS R01 AI148551NIAID NIH HHS R21 AI166633NIAID NIH HHS R21 AI176098
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBed bugs are blood-feeders that rapidly proliferate into large indoor infestations. Their bites can cause allergies, secondary infections and psychological stress, among other problems. Although several tactics for their management have been used, bed bugs continue to spread worldwide wherever humans reside. This is mainly due to human-mediated transport and their high resistance to several classes of insecticides. New treatment options with novel modes of action are required for their control. In this study, we evaluated the use of nitisinone (NTBC), an FDA-approved drug, for bed bug control in an insecticide-susceptible (HH) and an insecticide-resistant (CIN) population.

resultsAlthough NTBC was lethal to both populations when administered orally or applied topically in very low doses, we observed a slight but significant resistance in the CIN population. Transcriptomic analysis in both populations indicated that NTBC treatment elicited a broad suppression of genes associated with RNA post-transcriptional modifications, translation, endomembrane system, protein post-translational modifications and protein folding. The CIN population exhibited higher adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production and xenobiotic detoxification. Feeding studies on a mouse model suggest that NTBC could be used as a control method of bed bugs by host treatment.

conclusionThe results indicate that NTBC can be used as a new active ingredient for bed bug control by topical or oral treatment and shed light on the molecular mechanisms of suppressed tyrosine metabolism following NTBC treatment. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

Indexed as

BedbugsCyclohexanonesInsect ControlInsecticidesAnimalsFemaleInsecticide ResistanceIsoxazolesMiceTranscriptomeA1443 compoundCyclohexanonesInsecticidesIsoxazoles4‐hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenaseCimex lectulariusectocidehematophagous vector controltyrosine catabolism

Identifiers

PMID39865399
PMCPMC11908903

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.