The nucleoprotein fraction of mouse serum in normal and pathological processes

Analysis of the blood serum of healthy and infected with malaria plasmodium mice showed a steep rise in content of linear double-stranded DNA (0.2-0.5 and 2-15 gamma/ml, respectively). Some physico-chemical properties of serum DNA and a DNA-associated glycoprotein (M approximately 40 kDa) are determined.     

Alpha fetoprotein in maternal blood during normal and pathological pregnancies]

AFP was assayed in serum of normal pregnant women and in patients with pathological pregnancy. Pathological levels of AFP, defined as increased or decreased concentrations compared with the normal distribution, was detected in 83.5 % of pregnant women who delivered a dysmature child and in 88 % of those whose placenta was macroscopically sclerous. A longitudinal determination of AFP appears to be useful in the follow-up of risk of abortion.     

Determination of argininosuccinate in normal blood serum and liver

Argininosuccinate has been determined in normal serum and liver extract of rats by chromatographic analysis on Dowex-1-acetate after a brief period of in vivo labeling with l-[U-¹⁴C] citrulline. The amounts found were within the range of other amino acid intermediates of the ornithine cycle, determined in the same samples. Both ¹⁴C and ninhydrin color were measured. Chromatography on Amberlite columns, subsequent to fractionation on Dowex, allowed determination of the other amino acids. Fractionation on Dowex-1-acetate provides a reliable and highly selective method for the analysis of minute amounts of argininosuccinate in biological samples containing other amino acids.     

Gangliosides in blood serum of normal rats and Morris hepatoma 5123tc-bearing rats.

The effects of malignancy upon blood serum ganglioside patterns were investigated. Lipids extracted from the blood serum of Morris hepatoma 5123tc-bearing rats were characterized by severalfold increases in the content of hematosides, monosialogangliosides and disialogangliosides, as compared with lipids extracted from the serum of normal rats. However, the content of trisialogangliosides in lipids extracted from the serum of cancer-bearing rats substantially decreased. In general, the change in the profile of gangliosides in blood serum reflects, but is less pronounced, than that observed in the comparison of Morris hepatoma tissue to normal liver tissue.     

Qualitative modeling of normal blood coagulation and its pathological states using stochastic activity networks

We have developed a method for representing biological pathways and simulating their behavior based on the use of stochastic activity networks (SANs). SANs, an extension of the original Petri net, have been used traditionally to model flow systems including data-communications networks and manufacturing processes. We apply the methodology to the blood coagulation cascade, a biological flow system, and present the representation method as well as results of simulation studies based on published experimental data. In addition to describing the dynamic model, we also present the results of its utilization to perform simulations of clinical states including hemophilia's A and B as well as sensitivity analysis of individual factors and their impact on thrombin production.     

Endothelial glycocalyx of blood circulation system. II. Biological functions,state under normal and pathological conditions,and bioengineering applications

Glycocalyx is a complex of membrane-bound molecules at the interface between circulating blood and the endothelium of the vessel wall; it performs a number of specific biological functions maintaining vascular homeostasis. It contains sulfated glycosaminoglycans (proteoglycans) bound to membrane proteins, hyaluronan, glycoproteins, and plasma proteins. Today, endothelial glycocalyx is considered not only a simple inert barrier and molecular sieve, but a self-renewable three-dimensional network of various polysaccharides and protein derivatives, a reservoir of biologically active compounds, and the mechanical transducer of circulation sheer stress onto the endothelium. Under conditions of pathological vascular damages, endothelial glycocalyx is destroyed, which impairs the integrity of the vascular wall at the level of macro- and microcirculation and leads to development of the cardiovascular disorders and other diseases. Destruction of glycocalyx seems to be one of the first stages of vascular damage. This explains the diagnostic value of detection and therapeutic importance of correction of glycocalyx damage. Biomedical application of endothelial glycocalyx and its individual components in molecular and cellular engineering seems promising.     

Myosin-like microfilaments in the human normal and pathological testis.

The immunofluorescent staining of the human normal testis shows that both peritubular and tubular cells bind antimyosin-like antibodies. The same cells are provided with a large amount of microfilaments within the cytoplasm. The thin microfilaments observed by electron microscopy in various cells of the human testis likely correspond to the sites of immunofluorescent staining. In pathological specimens there can be observed a decrease in peritubular smooth muscle cells associated with a decrease in cytoplasmic microfilaments and in the immunofluorescent staining of some cells.     

Study of normal and pathological blood vessel morphogenesis in Flt1-tdsRed BAC Tg mice

Blood vessel development and network patterning are controlled by several signaling molecules, including VEGF, FGF, TGF‐ß, and Ang‐1,2. Among these, the role of VEGF‐A signaling in vessel morphogenesis is best understood. The biological activity of VEGF‐A depends on its reaction with specific receptors Flt1 and Flk1. Roles of VEGF‐A signaling in endothelial cell proliferation, migration, survival, vascular permeability, and induction of tip cell filopodia have been reported. In this study, we have generated Flt1‐tdsRed BAC transgenic (Tg) mice to monitor Flt1 gene expression during vascular development. We show that tdsRed fluorescence is observed within blood vessels of adult mice and embryos, indicative of retinal angiogenesis and tumor angiogenesis. Flt1 expression recapitulated by Flt1‐tdsRed BAC Tg mice overlapped well with Flk1, while Flt1 was expressed more abundantly in endothelial cells of large blood vessels such as dorsal aorta and presumptive stalk cells in retina, providing a unique model to study blood vessel development. genesis 50:561–571, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.