Age-Related Features of Cataractogenesis in the Salmon Fry. 1. Lipid Composition of Lens during Normal Development

This papers opens a series of publications on the mechanisms of cataractogenesis in the salmon fry. Biochemical features of normal lens development and cataractogenesis in fry of different age and age-related dynamics of the liver lipid composition during upon cataractogenesis will be dealt with, since lipids are most intensely synthesized in the liver, from where they are transported in the lens. Here, we describe the dynamics of lens lipid composition in the salmon fry, including the total lipid content and dynamics of individual classes. The data are analyzed on the fatty acid spectrum of the salmon fry lens, as compared to the human lens.     

Molecular diagnosis and frequencies of primary hypolactasia in populations of RUSSIA and neighboring countries

The digestion of the milk sugar (lactose) is observed every normal child but not in every adult. The decreased lactase synthesis in some adults results in problems with digestion of the whole milk (primary hypolactasy). An association of lactase activity in adults with carrying of the allele T within the polymorphism C/T-13910 located upstream of the lactase gene and 100% association of hypolactasy with the genotype C/C has recently been shown for a Finnish sample. In the present work we determined the LCT* C/T_13910 genotypes and allele frequencies in populations from Russia. The genotype C/C frequencies varied from 36.6% for Russians to 88.2% for Chukchi and were close to the published medical and epidemiological data on hypolactasy frequencies in respective populations. Genotyping was performed by three different methods to identify the optimal one. Our results have shown that the studied locus is the key determinant for the primary hypolactasy development in various human populations. Consequently, the DNA diagnostics of the C/C genotype carrying is a promising predictive test to detect the primary hypolactasy long before its clinical development. Practical application of this type of diagnostics would be a step towards the individual-oriented medicine.     

Hyperactivation of STAT3 is involved in abnormal differentiation of dendritic cells in cancer

Abnormal differentiation of myeloid cells is one of the hallmarks of cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms of this process remain elusive. In this study, we investigated the effect of tumor-derived factors on Janus kinase (Jak)/STAT signaling in myeloid cells during their differentiation into dendritic cells. Tumor cell conditioned medium induced activation of Jak2 and STAT3, which was associated with an accumulation of immature myeloid cells. Jak2/STAT3 activity was localized primarily in these myeloid cells, which prevented the differentiation of immature myeloid cells into mature dendritic cells. This differentiation was restored after removal of tumor-derived factors. Inhibition of STAT3 abrogated the negative effects of these factors on myeloid cell differentiation, and overexpression of STAT3 reproduced the effects of tumor-derived factors. Thus, this is a first demonstration that tumor-derived factors may affect myeloid cell differentiation in cancer via constitutive activation of Jak2/STAT3.     

The genetic sequelae of irradiation in mammals (a review of the literature)

The problem of hereditary effects of mammal exposure to ionizing radiation has a 95-year history but to date, no simple final solution has been available. Many papers on this problem specify the dependence of the hereditary effects on dose rate, regime, physical nature of radiation exposure, type, line and age of mammals that were studied. Over many years it was studied mainly as an aspect of hereditary radiation effects in progeny of one irradiated and the second non-irradiated parents. Recently due to the large-scale expansion of ionizing irradiation, it has turned out urgent to study hereditary radiation effects in progeny of both irradiated parents. However, the original studies on this problem are not numerous, and in the summarized articles, the problem practically had no specified presentation.     

Effect of aluminum and iron on lipid metabolism in aquatic invertebrates

Methods of thin-layer, gas-liquid, and liquid chromatography were applied to the study of the effect of various concentrations of aluminum and iron salts on the contents of phospholipids, cholesterol, and fatty acids in the aquatic invertebrate Hydropsyche contubernalis L. (Trichoptera). It was found that the effect of the metals under study on lipid contents in living organisms depended on the composition of the aqueous medium and concentrations of the metals. Aluminum and iron altered the value of the cholesterol-to-phospholipid molar ratio. In the absence of lethal effects, this was indicative of attempts to switch adaptational biochemical mechanisms to stabilize cellular structures.     

Preparation of an active strain of Bacillus licheniformis--producer of thermostable alpha-amylase

A highly potent strain of Bacillus licheniformis 103 that synthesized thermostable alpha-amylase with temperature and pH optima of 90-95 degrees C and 6.0-8.5, respectively, was obtained by mutagenesis and selection. The composition of fermentation media and conditions for submerged cultivation of the producer were optimized. alpha-Amylase whose activity reached 260 U/ml was obtained in laboratory fermenters.