A method for monitoring toxic damage to the liver,based on measurement of total water and its magnetic relaxation characteristics

Acute poisoning of rats with the hepatotropic poison tetrachloromethane was accompanied by increases in the liver content of total water and its spin-lattice (T ₁) and spin-spin (T ₂) relaxation times and by a decrease in theT ₁/T ₂ ratio, with reversal of the correlation betweenT ₁ andT ₂. The antihypoxic agent sodium γ-oxybutyrate normalized water metabolism in the liver almost completely. It is concluded that total water content andT ₁ are the more informative parameters for monitoring both toxic liver damage and the efficacy of its pharmacological correction. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 120, N ^o 12, pp. 584–586, December, 1995 Presented by Yu. A. Vladimirov, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences     

Characterization of specific binding sites for high-density lipoproteins on rat hepatocytes: Effects of estradiol and testosterone

Two types of binding sites for high-density lipoproteins (HDL): P₁ and P₂ K_dl=20 and K_d2=2.5μg/ml, N₁=130 and N₂=35 ng/mg cell protein) are identified on the surface of rat hepatocytes. Conditions for predominant determination of P₂ are created by employing radiolabeled lipoproteins (¹²⁵I-HDL) with a high specific activity (1000 dpm) and the differences in the kinetics of the P₁-and P₂-¹²⁵I-HDL complex formation. P₂ predominate on hepatocytes from females. The addition of estradiol to a culture of hepatocytes from males increases the content of P₂, while the addition of testosterone to hepatocytes from females decreases the content of P₂ to the levels determined in males. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 122, No. 12, pp. 629–634, December, 1996     

Comparativein vitro study of the effect of contrast media on complement activity and eicosanoid content in rat blood

The study comparesin vitro effect of different contrast media on complement activity and eicosanoid content. Ionic agents (Bilignost>Iodamide>Triombrast>Hexabrix) exert pronounced complement-activating effect, while nonionic agents markedly increase blood content of arachidonic acid metabolites. The complement-activating effect of contrast media did not correlate with their ability to elevate blood content of prostaglandin F_2α and leukotrienes C₄ and B₄. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 125, No. 6, pp. 637–640, June, 1998     

Effect of dexamethasone on the expression of binding sites for high-density lipoproteins in cultured rat hepatocytes (Independence of the hormone effect on the intracellular cholesterol pool)

It is shown that glucocorticoids play a key regulatory role directed toward the maintenance of an optimal level of binding and internalization of HDL₃ in hepatocytes. Their stimulatory effect on the expression of HDL receptors proves to be independent of changes in the CH content in parenchymal cells. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimentalnoi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 117, N ^o 1, pp. 50–53, January, 1994     

Changes in thymosin-α1 content in patients with nonspecific gynecologic diseases depending on inflammation type and efficacy of antiinflammatory and immunomodulating therapy

Plasma content of thymosin-α₁ and its circadian variations in patients with inflammatory gynecologic diseases differ from those in healthy donors and depend on the type of inflammation and efficacy of treatment. It is concluded that not only the absolute content of thymic hormones, but also their biorhythmic variations are important for immune regulation. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 130, No. 9, pp. 327–329, September, 2000     

Effects of regulatory peptides on changes in the content of brain stem catecholamine in rats during hypoxia and hemorrhage

Effects of regulatory peptides FMRFa, thyroliberin, and Semax (ACTH_4–10 analogue) on changes in the content of biogenic amines in rat brain stem observed 1 and 20 min after termination of hypoxia and 5 min after bloodletting (hemorrhage) were studied. The content of norepinephrine decreased to 82% of the control level 20 min after hypobaric hypoxia, while preliminary administration of the peptide complex abolished this effect. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 128, No. 11, pp. 518–520, November, 1999     

Strong linkage disequilibrium of a HbE variant with the (AT)9(T)5 repeat in the BP1 binding site upstream of the β-globin gene in the Thai population

A binding site for the repressor protein BP1, which contains a tandem (AT)_x(T)_y repeat, is located approximately 530 bp 5 to the human -globin gene (HBB). There is accumulating evidence that BP1 binds to the (AT)₉(T)₅ allele more strongly than to other alleles, thereby reducing the expression of HBB. In this study, we investigated polymorphisms in the (AT)_x(T)_y repeat in 57 individuals living in Thailand, including three homozygotes for the hemoglobin E variant (HbE; 26Glu->Lys), 22 heterozygotes, and 32 normal homozygotes. We found that (AT)₉(T)₅ and (AT)₇(T)₇ alleles were predominant in the studied population and that the HbE variant is in strong linkage disequilibrium with the (AT)₉(T)₅ allele, which can explain why the ^E chain is inefficiently synthesized compared to the normal ^A chain. Moreover, the mildness of the HbE disease compared to other hemoglobinopathies in Thai may be due, in part, to the presence of the (AT)₉(T)₅ repeat on the HbE chromosome. In addition, a novel (AC)_n polymorphism adjacent to the (AT)_x(T)_y repeat (i.e., (AC)₃(AT)₇(T)₅) was found through the variation screening in this study.MIM and accession numbers and URLs for data presented herein are as follows: Online Mendelian Inheritance of Man (OMIM), (for HBB [MIM 141900]). GenBank, (accession number [NG_000007.2] reference sequence information).     

Dynorphin administered to Newborn rats modulates morphogenesis of the heart

Proliferation, activity of the nucleolar organizer region, and protein content in cardiomyocytes were studied in 21-day-old rats intraperitoneally treated with κ-opioid receptor agonist dynorphin A_1–13 in a dose of 100 μg/kg on postnatal days 2–6. The content of catecholamines in the heart and proliferative activity of cardiomyocytes remained unaffected, but the number of nucleoli in cardiomyocyte nuclei and the integral optical density of cardiomyocytes stained with amido black B (protein content) increased. The data suggest that administration of dynorphin to newborn rats considerably modulates morphogenesis of the heart at later terms. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 129, No. 6, pp. 623–625, June, 2000     

Absence of long-term modulation of ventilation by dead-space loading during moderate exercise in humans

The stability of arterial PCO₂ (P_aCO₂) during moderate exercise in humans suggests a CO₂-linked control that matches ventilation (_E) to pulmonary CO₂ clearance (CO₂). An alternative view is that _E is subject to long-term modulation (LTM) induced by hyperpnoeic history. LTM has been reported with associative conditioning via dead-space (V_D) loading in exercising goats (Martin and Mitchell 1993). Whether this prevails in humans is less clear, which may reflect differences in study design (e.g. subject familiarisation; V_D load; whether or not _E is expressed relative to CO₂; choice of P_aCO₂ estimator). After familiarisation, nine healthy males performed moderate constant-load cycle-ergometry (20 W-80 W-20 W; <lactate threshold, _L): day 1, pre-conditioning, n=3; day 2, conditioning (V_D=1.59 l, doubling _E at 20 W and 80 W), n=8 with 10 min rest between tests; and, after 1 h rest, post-conditioning, n=3. Gas exchange was determined breath-by-breath. Post-conditioning, neither the transient [phase 1, phase 2 (1, 2)] nor steady-state _E exercise responses, nor their proportionality to CO₂, differed from pre-conditioning. For post-conditioning trial 1, steady-state _E was 28.1 (4.7) l min^–1 versus 29.1 (3.8) l min^–1 pre-conditioning, and mean-alveolar PCO₂ (a validated P_aCO₂ estimator) was 5.53 (0.48) kPa [41.5 (3.6) mmHg] versus 5.59 (0.49) kPa [41.9 (3.7) mmHg]; the 1 _E increment was 4.2 (2.9) l min^–1 versus 5.2 (1.9) l min^–1; the 2 _E time-constant () was 64.4 (24.1) s versus 64.1 (25.3) s; _E/CO₂ was 1.12 (0.04) versus 1.10 (0.04); and the _E-CO₂ slope was 21.7 (3.4) versus 21.2 (3.2). In conclusion, we could find no evidence to support ventilatory control during moderate exercise being influenced by hyperpnoeic history associated with dead-space loading in humans.     

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the cyclooxygenase pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism in osteogenic sarcoma

Arachidonic acid metabolites are measured in primary osteogenic sarcomas, benign neoplasms, and tumor-like bone lesions. In typical osteogenic sarcomas, the contents of E and F_2α prostaglandins are significantly higher than in benign bone tumors or tumor-like bone lesions. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has different effects on the levels of prostaglandins E and F_2α, thromboxane B₂, and prostaglandin F_1α in osteogenic sarcomas, its effectiveness depending on the mechanism of drug action and individual sensitivity of tumor cells to this drug. A negative correlation is established between the content of prostaglandins E in osteogenic sarcoma and the degree of therapeutic pathomorphosis of the tumor in patients treated with adriamycin during the preoperative period. A single transfusion of a suspension of nonactivated allogenic bone marrow cells markedly reduces the content of prostaglandins E in osteogenic sarcoma. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 122, No. 11, pp. 551–556, November, 1996     

Glycerol permeability of mutant aquaporin 1 and other AQP-MIP proteins: Inhibition studies

In a recent work, we showed that the aquaporins 1 (AQP1) are permeable to certain small solutes such as glycerol. Here, we have further investigated the permeation pathway of glycerol through human AQP1 (hAQP1) by the use of mutants (C189S, H180A, H209A) and inhibitors such asP-chloromercuribenzene sulphonate (pCMBS), CuSO₄ or phloretin, in comparison with other AQP-MIP (where MIP denotes major intrinsic protein) proteins: hAQP2, plant water channel TIP and bacterial glycerol permease facilitator, G1pF. Glycerol movements were measured inXenopus laevis oocytes. Apparent glycerol permeability coefficients (P _gly ) were calculated from the rates of oocyte swelling upon exposure to an isoosmotic medium containing an inwardly directed gradient of glycerol and from [³H]glycerol uptake measurements. SimilarP _gly values were obtained for hAQP1 and hAQP2, 6 to 8 times greater than control indicating that hAQP2 also transports glycerol. Pof hAQP2P injected oocytes waspCMBS and CuSO₄ sensitive. In contrast, theP _gly value of TIP was close to that of control, indicating that TIP does not transport glycerol. The hAQP1-C189S, -H180A and -H209A mutants gaveP _gly values similar to those obtained for wild hAQP1, indicating that these mutations did not affect glycerol movements. However, the H209A mutant has an osmotic water permeability coefficient (P _f) value decreased by 50%. The inhibitory effect ofpCMBS onP _gly was maintained for the 2 His mutants and, more interestingly, was also conserved for the C189S mutant. CuSO₄ significantly inhibitedP _gly of oocytes expressing hAQP1, hAQP1-C189S,-H180A, and -H209A mutants and had no effect onP _gly of G1pF-injected oocytes. Phloretin was shown to inhibit by around 80% the glycerol fluxes of wild and mutant hAQP1, hAQP2 and to fully inhibit glycerol uptake in G1pF-injected oocytes.     

Three copies of the ATP2 gene are arranged in tandem on chromosome X in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We previously reported that there were three copies of ATP1 coding for F₁- and two copies of ATP3 coding for F₁- on the left and right arm of chromosome II, respectively. In this study, we present evidence that there are three closely linked copies of ATP2 encoding the subunit of the F₁F₀-ATPase complex on the right arm of chromosome X in several laboratory strains, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain S288C, although it was reported by the yeast genome project that ATP2 is a single-copy gene. Chromosome X fragmentation, long-PCR, chromosome-walking and ATP2-disruption analysis using haploid wild-type strains and prime clone 70645 showed that the three copies of ATP2 are present on the right arm of chromosome X, like those of ATP1 on chromosome II. Each was estimated to be approximately 4 kb apart. We designated the ATP2 proximal to the centromere as ATP2a, the middle one as ATP2b and the distal one as ATP2c. The region containing the three ATP2s is composed of two repeated units of approximately 7 kb; that is, both ends (ATP2a, ATP2c) accompanying the ATP2-neighboring ORFs are the same. A part of YJR119c, YJR120w, YJR122w (CAF17) and YJR123w (RP55), which were reported by the yeast genome project, are contained in the ATP2 repeated units; and the middle ATP2 of the three ATP2s, ATP2b, is located between the two repeated units. Expression of all three copies of ATP2 (ATP2a, ATP2b, ATP2c) was confirmed because a single or double ATP2-disruptant could grow on glycerol, but a triple ATP2-disruptant could not. In addition, of the three copies of ATP1 and ATP2, even if only one copy of the ATP1 and ATP2 genes remained, the cells grew on glycerol.     

Adaptive capacity of granulocytic bone marrow stem cells in preleukemic AKR mice

In leukemia-prone AKR mice, adaptation to 10-h immobilization stress increases the content of sialoadhesin-positive macrophages to the level of intact (CBA×AKR)F₁ hybrids. Hybrid mice responds to stress by a slight reduction of this parameter. The contents of granulocytic hemopoietic islets and committed granulomonocyte precursors in the bone marrow after stress undergo opposite changes. Unlike hybrids, granulocytopoiesis in AKR mice is not activated by stress. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 127, No. 2, pp. 151–154, February, 1999     

Biological availability of endogenous calcitonin in rats

Significant correlation was established in 52-week-old rats between serum calcitonin content and density of sublemmal granules at the vascular pole of C-cells (N _Vsg)∶r _xy=0.922,p<0.001. Statistical simulation methods made it possible to determine the confidence interval of biological availability of endogenous calcitonin: 87–100% (p≥0.95). Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 125, No. 4, pp. 474–476, April, 1998     

Determination of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in human lymphocytes is a potential laboratory test in diabetology

The conventional micromethod of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (F-2,6-P₂) determination is optimized for human peripheral blood lymphocytes. The F-2,6-P₂ content in lymphocytes of healthy subjects is 0.8±0.2 pmol/10⁶ cells or 6.7±1.1 pmol/mg protein. Preliminary findings show a decrease in the F-2,6-P₂ content in lymphocytes from patients with severe diabetes mellitus. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 122, No. 9, pp. 341–344, September, 1996     

Activation of precursors of T killers of hematopoietic stem cells by thymosine

Lymph node cells from normal CBA mice, from CBACBA syngeneic radiation chimeras, and B mice were incubatedin vitro with fraction 5 of thymosine, and transplanted into sublethally irradiated (CBA x C57BL)F₁ recipients, and the number of endogenous colonies in the recipients' spleen was determined. Thymosine was shown to potentiate the killer activity of lymph node cells of normal CBA mice and of CBACBA syngeneic radiation chimeras, but not of B mice. It is suggested that the target for the action of thymosine is the subpopulation of T₁ lymphocytes.Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.Institute of Biophysics, Ministry of Health of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 85, No. 5, pp. 602–605, May, 1978.     

Effect of human defensins on the cytoplasmic Ca2+ content in platelets

The effect of the total fraction of human defensins (HNP-1, HNP-2, and HNP-3) on the cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ content ([Ca²⁺]_i) in the platelets of healthy donors was studied. At concentrations of 0.1–40 μg/ml and an incubation time of 10 min defensins have no effect on [Ca²⁺]_i in platelets labeled with Fura-2AM. However, at higher concentrations (100 μg/ml) they increased platelet [Ca²⁺]_i. In addition, defensins (40 μg/ml) inhibited the Ca²⁺ increase in platelets induced by thrombin, adenosine diphosphate, and the lipopolysaccharide ofS. typhimurium endotoxin. The most pronounced inhibitory effect was observed in a suspension of thrombin-stimulated platelets. It is shown that the effect of human defensins on the functional activity of platelets is due to the alterations in the intracellular Ca²⁺. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 118, N ^o 12, pp. 600–603, December, 1994     

Effect of μ-opiate receptor agonist tetrapeptide A10 on DNA synthesis and protein content in the myocardium of albino rats

Effect of intraperitoneal injection of tetrapeptide A10 (H-Tyr-D-Orn-Phe-Gly-OH), selective μ-opiate receptor agonist, synthetic analog of dermorphine, in a dose of 100 μg/kg on DNA synthesis and protein content in the myocardium was studied in albino rats. Five injections of tetrapeptide on days 2–6 after birth caused no changes in DNA synthesis 17 days after the last injection,i. e. in 24-day rats. The number of nucleoli and their area increased. In adult males long-term (3-week) treatment with tetrapeptide A10 increased the number of nucleoli and the mean and integral optical density of isolated cardiomyocytes stained with amido black B, which probably attested to activation of protein synthesis in the myocardium. Simultaneously, the content of catecholamines in the heart increased. These data are comparable with delayed effects of κ-opiate receptor agonist dinorphine A_1–13 and indicate that morphogenetic properties of opioid peptides in rat myocardium are realized via the same routes. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 130, No. 12, pp. 693–695, December, 2000     

Differences in the phagocytic activity of granulocytes and their immunocorrection in chronic aflatoxicosis B1 and benzene poisoning

After 60 days of intoxication, low doses of aflatoxin B₁ decreased the total protein concentration, an indicator of phagocytosis completeness, and had no effect on the level of lysosomal cationic proteins. Benzene decreases both parameters, but does not affect the total protein content. The amino acid preparations cerebrolysin and aviamine and glutamic acid normalize the phagocytic activity of granulocytes decreased by benzene, but not by aflatoxin. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimetnal'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 126, No. 10, pp. 430–432, October, 1998     

Effect of single total irradiation on the reproductive system and vitamin content in rat progeny

Reduction in the epididymis weight and in the spermatozoid concentration together with marked morphological changes in the seminiferous tubules were observed in the progeny of irradiated rats. Vitamin E content in the testes increased 2.8-fold, while that of vitamin B₂ decreased 1.6-fold. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 126, No. 12, pp. 652–654, December, 1998.