Criteria of individual and population-wide resistance to acute hypoxia

It is shown that the geometric mean of survival time and the deviation of σ from τ are measures of a population's resistance to acute hypoxia; that a measure of the individual resistance of an animal to such hypoxia is Student's parameter for that animal; that the distribution of Student's parameter in a population is a lognormal distribution under any conditions; and that the number of animals with low resistance is always equal to the number of highly resistant animals. The procedure described makes it possible to limit the number of animals used in an experiment by recording with the requisite accuracy the proposed measures of resistance to acute hypoxia at the population and individual levels. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 120, N ^o 9, pp. 239–241, September, 1995     

Effect of acute hypoxia on resistance to hypoxia in rats

The resistance of rats to hypoxia was measured by survival time after exposure to high-altitude (11.5 km) hypoxia. The first exposure to acute hypoxia caused phasic changes in the survival time: short-term in high-resistant rats (about 24 h) and long-term in moderate- and lowresistant rats (38–39 days) starting from 1 h and 6–7 days after the first exposure, respectively. Adaptive reactions were more pronounced in low- and moderate-resistant rats, while disadaptation was typical of high-resistant animals. In all rats, the adaptive effect dominated until days 22–23. Throughout the testing, the initial type of resistance was retained in 79% of high-resistant rats, in 41% of low-resistant and in 33% of moderate-resistant rats, i. e., the initially homogenous groups formed after the first exposure in accordance with the type of resistance became mixed, which reduced the intergroup differences. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 127, No. 6, pp. 625–628, June, 1999     

Lipid peroxidation parameters in the internal organs of rats with different degrees of resistance to hypoxia

Lipid peroxidation and the antioxidant system of the heart, liver, and brain are studied in adult male Wistar rats with high and low resistance to hypoxia tested by “raising” to an altitude of 11.5 km and in intact outbred rats. These parameters are found to be the same in the brain of low- and high-resistance rats, while the brain content of lipid peroxidation products is higher in both groups of Wistar rats compared with outbred rats. The heart and liver parameters are coupled to the resistance to hypoxia. Antioxidant activity prevails over lipid peroxidation in the hearts and livers of high-resistance rats, confirming that oxidation plays a major role in the damaging and lethal effects of acute hypoxia. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 121, N ^o 1, pp 26–29, January, 1996 Presented by A. I. Archakov, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences     

Comparison of lipid peroxidation parameters in the heart,liver, and brain of rats with different degrees of resistance to hypoxia

The relationship between the intensity of lipid peroxidation and the activity of the antioxidant system in the heart, liver, and brain is studied in male Wistar rats with low and high resistance to hypoxia tested by being “raised” to an altitude of 11.5 km and in intact outbred rats. It is found that in all groups of rats the content of lipid peroxidation products is highest in the liver, lower in the heart, and lowest in the brain. In all groups, the rate of the ascorbate-induced lipid peroxidation is highest in the brain, lower in the liver, and lowest in the heart. The activity of the antioxidant system is highest in the brain, lower in the liver, and lowest in the heart of low-resistance and outbred rats, while in high-resistance rats it is the same in all the organs. Thus, the difference in the parameters of lipid peroxidation and, particularly, of the antioxidant system in the studied organs is most pronounced in rats with a low resistance to hypoxia. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 121, N ^o 2, pp. 138–143, February, 1996 Presented by A. I. Archakov, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences     

Effect of the season on lipid peroxidation in the myocardium of rats with different resistance to hypoxia

Lipid peroxidation and the antioxidant system of the myocardium of adult male Wistar rats with low and high resistance to acute hypoxia tested by “raising” to an altitude of 11.5 km are studied in winter and in summer. It is found that the winter season is a mild stressor inducing changes in the myocardial antioxidant system and lipid peroxidation which are similar to those observed at the early stages of catecholamine stress in the summer season. In both cases alterations are more pronounced in low-resistance than in high-resistance rats. In winter, in low-resistance rats the intensity of lipid peroxidation and the activity of the antioxidant system are lower, while the ratio of their parameters (chemiluminescence data) is higher. At the same time, the levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances are higher in winter in both groups. The relationship between the studied parameters and the resistance of rats to hypoxia is more obvious in winter than in summer, i.e., it is season-dependent and is also more pronounced in catecholamine stress. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 120, N^olo 7, pp. 87–90, July, 1995 Presented by N. A. Agadzhanyan, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences     

Changes in hemodynamics and respiration in animals with different resistance to acute hypoxia

We studied the effects of acute hypoxia on hemodynamics and respiration in cats. The animals were divided into high-, low- and medium-resistant to hypoxia by the time of respiratory arrest after breathing with 3% O₂ gas mixture. In high-resistant animals, hemodynamic indices remained at a high level throughout the hypoxic episode, while in low-resistant cats they decreased shortly after the onset of hypoxia. It is suggested that the peculiarities of hemodynamic regulation play an important role in individual resistance to acute hypoxia. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 128, No. 9, pp. 286–290, September, 1999     

Behavioral peculiarities and reactions of brain dopaminergic systems in rats with different resistance to acute hypobaric hypoxia

Locomotor activity in the open field test did not correlate with rat resistance to acute hypobaric hypoxia; there was a correlation between this resistance and rat behavior during acute stress. Immobility was characteristic of rats with low and particularly medium resistance to hypoxia; this reaction can be abolished by antidepressants. By contrast, highly resistant rats were mainly hyperactive. The resistance to hypoxia was associated with extreme parameters of dopaminergic neuron functioning. In low-resistant rats locomotor stereotypia was maximal, while perioral stereotypia was the minimal; highly resistant rats were characterized by an opposite pattern, and medium-resistant rats occupied an intermediate position. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 130, No. 9, pp. 275–278, September, 2000     

Variation in antiinfectious nonspecific resistance of the organism caused by cholinergic stimulation

Cholinergic stimulation (acetylcholine, aceclidine, armin) is found to improve antiinfectious nonspecific resistance in mice. The effect depends on the dose of cholinomimetic (armin), is maximal during the first 18 hours of the infectious process, and is determined by serum antibacterial activity, lysozyme activity, and the function of neutrophils and natural killers. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 120, N ^o . 8, pp. 164–166, August, 1995 Presented by Yu. A. Romanov, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences     

Effects of adaptation to hypoxia on cytochrome levels in the brain and liver of rats

After a prolonged (for 30 days) adaptation of rats to intermittent hypoxia, their brains contained lowered levels of mitochondrial cytochromes, despite an increase in the number of mitochondria in the brain tissue mass, along with similar levels of high-energy compounds and more protein as compaired to the brains of unadapted controls. A mitochondrial population with novel properties presumably emerged in the brain. These effects were all more strongly marked in rats with an initially low resistance to hypoxia. In the liver of hypoxiaadapted animals, unlike in their brain, cytochrome levels in the mitochondrial and microsomal redox chains were lowered and the biogenesis of mitochondria was much less intensive. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 120, N ^o 12, pp. 576–579, December, 1995     

Biotransformation of hepatic xenobiotics in rats with various resistance to hypoxia exposure to after cold

Hepatic monooxygenase activity was studied in rats with various resistance to hypoxia during adaptation to cold. Cold-induced change in the concentrations of cytochromes P-450 and b₅ and the activity of microsomals metabolism of amidopyrine and aniline were shown to be associated with individual resistance to hypoxia. The content of microsomal cytochromes in highly resistant rats did not change on the fifth day of cold exposure. However, the intensity of metabolic reactions decreased. In low-resistance rats, a cold-induced decrease in the concentration of the cytochromes was not accompanied by significant changes in metabolic rates of amidopyrine and aniline. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 126, No. 12, pp. 631–633, December, 1998     

Pharmacokinetics of antipyrine in rats with different resistance to hypoxia in cold stress

It is shown that the parameters of antipyrine pharmacokinetics during cold exposure depend on individual resistance to hypoxia. High-resistant rats are characterized by less intense metabolism and more rapid normalization of pharmacokinetic parameters than lowresistant rats characterized by shortened elimination half-time corresponding to a more rapid metabolism of xenobiotics under conditions of cold stress. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 126, No. 11, pp. 513–515, November, 1998     

Effects of adaptation to periodic hypoxia on kinetic parameters of respiratory chain enzymes in rat brain

A study of kinetic parameters of brain respiratory enzymes revealed that the maximal velocity and the Michaelis apparent constant for NADH-cytochrome C-reductase are significantly lower in low-resistant rats than in rats with a high resistance to hypoxia. Adaptation to periodic hypoxia increases total resistance only in low-resistant rats. It is accompanied by an increase in the values of kinetics parameters for NADH-cytochrome C-reductase and cytochrome oxidase. Kinetic parameters for these enzymes in the brain of high-resistant rats are either unaltered or even decreased. It is suggested that the first enzymatic complex of the respiratory chain is one of the limiting or regulating links in energy metabolism determining the brain's resistance to hypoxia. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 121, N ^o 3, pp. 252–255, March, 1996.     

The possibility of using glutathione as a protector during exposure to hypoxia

Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 116, N ^o 9, pp. 261–263, September, 1993     

Changes in hypoxia resistance in rats during daytime

The resistance to acute hypoxia in male Wistar rats was evaluated by the period of survival after exposure to high-altitude hypoxia (11.5 km above see level). The study was performed during daytime (13.00–21.00) in autumn. The fatal rat population was characterized by the log-normal distribution of survival periods. The rats with low and moderate resistance to hypoxia exhibited similar diurnal variations in it with gradual decrease by the end of daytime more pronounced in low-resistant rats. The rats with high resistance showed relatively constant resistance to hypoxia which decreased only at 21:00. All groups revealed a relatively stable resistance to hypoxia from 16:00 to 18:00. These variations in the resistance to hypoxia should be taken into consideration when planning experimental research. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 127, No. 3, pp. 256–260, March 1999     

Effects of carotid glomectomy on erythron parameters in rats differing in the resistance to acute hypoxia

Rats with low resistance to acute altitude hypoxia did not differ from those with high resistance in the erythron parameters recorded under normal environmental conditions. After a bilateral carotid glomectomy, significant falls in the red blood cell count, hemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin were recorded only in the group with low resistance to acute hypoxia, although the “altitude” resistance was decreased to similar degrees in the two groups. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 122, No. 7, pp. 12–13, July, 1996     

Effect of various oxygen concentrations on the ATP content in isolated hepatocytes of rats adapted and nonadapted to hypoxia

It is shown that isolated hepatocytes are capable of perceiving slight changes in the envioronmental oxygen concentration. A complicated phase dependence exists between adenosine triphosphate and partial oxygen pressure, which differs in cells from animals with high and low resistance to hypoxia, the former showing a more stable and resistant energy-synthesizing function than the latter. After long-term adaptation to periodic hypoxia, the resistance of the energy-synthesizing function rises in hepatocytes from high-resistant animals, and falls in low-resistant animals suggesting a fundamentally different organization of the emergency compensatory mechanisms of the energy-synthesizing function in hepatocytes of animals of these two types. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 118, N ^o 12, pp. 576–581, December, 1994