Voltammetric determination of blood angiotensin II level

A rapid procedure for determining angiotensin II in the blood by inverse voltammetry using a TA-2 device (Tekhnoanalit Company, Tomsk) with a graphite electrode has been developed. The results of analyses using the proposed technique agree with the clinical data. The rapid analytical procedure favors optimization of cardiotropic drug therapy. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 40, No. 12, pp. 54–56, December, 2006.     

Klebsiella pneumonia today]

Analysis of incidence and morphology of Klebsiella pneumonia nowadays in the adults (10 observations), children (5 observations) and newborns (23 observations) is presented. The pneumonias account for 11.3% of total number of lobar pneumonias in the adults dying in 1979-1989. Klebsiella infection represent 16.1% of total number of autopsies a year according to the pediatric infection pathology department. Etiological role of Klebsiella is established in 21.5% of total number of autopsies of newborns for 1985-1988, pneumonia being 61% of total Klebsiella infections. Klebsiella pneumonias in the adults correspond in principle to the Friedl?nder's pneumonia studied in detail by V.D. Zinserling (1891-1960) and his students. Generalized forms of, as a rule, hospital Klebsiellosis with most grave lung damage, unknown up to now, are frequently observed in children. Klebsiellosis was combined practically in all cases both in the adults and children with other bacterial, viral and fungal infections. The degree of clinico-morphological manifestations may considerably vary.     

Damaged chromatin does not prevent the exit from metaphase I in fused mouse oocytes

The presence of checkpoint mechanisms which are able to recognize damaged chromatin and thereafter to prevent exit from metaphase I has been investigated in giant mouse oocytes produced by fusion of a normal metaphase I oocyte with an equivalent oocyte with damaged chromatin. The presence of damaged chromatin did not prevent the onset of anaphase I in both sets of chromatin in the fused cells. Interestingly, fused or unfused cells containing only damaged chromatin failed to enter anaphase and persisted instead in a metaphase-like state. These results demonstrate the fragility of checkpoint controls in mammalian female germ cells.      

Severity of Megakaryocyte-Driven Osteosclerosis in Mpig6b-Deficient Mice Is Sex-Linked

Patients with chronic myelofibrosis often suffer from osteosclerosis, which is associated with bone pain and may lead to bone marrow failure. The pathogenesis of myelofibrosis is linked to aberrant megakaryocyte development and function. Null and loss-of-function mutations in MPIG6B, which codes for the inhibitory heparan sulfate receptor G6b-B, result in severe macrothrombocytopenia, large megakaryocyte clusters, and focal primary myelofibrosis in mice and humans. We investigated the development of osteosclerosis in Mpig6b null (Mpig6b^−/−) mice. Although male and female Mpig6b^−/− mice presented with elevated bone marrow megakaryocyte number and macrothrombocytopenia, female Mpig6b^−/− mice developed progressive splenomegaly starting at 8 weeks of age. Micro–computed tomography (μCT) of femurs showed that female Mpig6b^−/− mice had increased cortical thickness and reduced bone marrow area starting at 8 weeks of age and developed occlusion of the medullary cavity by trabeculae by 16 weeks of age. In contrast, male Mpig6b^−/− mice developed only a small number of trabeculae in the medullary cavity at the proximal diaphysis and demonstrated a temporary decrease in bone volume fraction and trabecular thickness at 16 weeks. Ovariectomy of 10-week-old female Mpig6b^−/− mice prevented the development of medullary cavity osteosclerosis, whereas orchiectomy of male Mpig6b^−/− mice did not exacerbate their disease. Importantly, ovariectomized female Mpig6b^−/− mice also demonstrated improvement in spleen weight compared to sham-operated Mpig6b^−/− mice, establishing estrogen as a contributing factor to the severity of the megakaryocyte-driven osteosclerosis. © 2021 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).     

The methods of traditional medicine in outpatient polyclinic practice

Some 7950 patients have been treated at the traditional medicine department of the Consulting and Diagnostic Center N52, 2/3rds of them came after long and unsuccessful medicamental treatment. Psychotherapy, manual therapy and acupuncture-reflex methods were successful in 86-93% of cases. They are recommended for local clinics provided that the latter are properly equipped and stuffed.     

Thrombopoietin stimulates colony-forming unit-megakaryocyte proliferation and megakaryocyte maturation independently of cytokines that signal through the gp130 receptor subunit

Thrombopoietin (Tpo), the ligand for the c-Mpl receptor, is a major regulator of megakaryopoiesis. Treatment of mice with Tpo raises the platelet count fourfold within a few days. Conversely, c-mpl knock-out mice have platelet counts that are 15% that of normal. The subunit structure of the c-Mpl receptor is not fully understood. Some cytokines that stimulate megakaryopoiesis (IL-6, IL-11, leukemia inhibitory factor, and oncostatin M) bind to receptors that use gp130 as a signal transduction subunit. For these reasons, we determined whether gp130 function was required for Tpo-induced signal transduction. Murine marrow cells were cultured in semi-solid media in the presence of Tpo or IL-3, with or without a neutralizing anti-gp130 monoclonal antibody (RX187) or a soluble form of c-Mpl receptor (soluble Mpl) that blocks Tpo bioactivity, and the numbers of colony-forming unit-megakaryocyte (CFU-Meg) colonies were counted on day 5. Murine marrow cells were also cultured in suspension under serum-free conditions for 5 days, and megakaryocyte DNA content was measured by flow cytometry, as an index of nuclear maturation. The addition of RX187 did not block Tpo-induced CFU-Meg colony growth nor CFU-Meg nuclear maturation in suspension culture. However, IL-3-induced CFU-Meg colony growth and megakaryocyte nuclear maturation decreased in the presence of RX187. Soluble Mpl completely ablated Tpo-induced CFU-Meg growth, and partially blocked IL- 3-stimulated CFU-Meg growth. Thus the effects of Tpo on megakaryopoiesis in vitro do not depend on cytokines that signal through gp130. Furthermore, it is unlikely that gp 130 serves as a beta chain for the c-Mpl receptor, as Tpo signalling is unimpaired in the presence of RX187. In contrast, the effects of IL-3 on CFU-Meg growth are mediated in part through Tpo and through gp130-signalling cytokines.