Reaction of the ovaries of 1- and 4-day-old rat pups to transplantation

Morphofunctional peculiarities of ovarian development in 1- and 4-day-old rats have been studied under conditions of their transplantation into mature female rats. In 30 days in transplants of both series of the experiments atretic process develops. Better preservation of the general pool of the germ cells and follicles is obtained at transplantation of the ovaries from the 4-day-old donors; their ovocytes at the operation time are at the stationary state of meiosis prophase. Ovocytes of 1-day-old animals, being at the stages of early prophase, are more vulnerable at homotransplantation.     

Remodeling of angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in cervical cancer development

The ability to stimulate angiogenesis/lymphangiogenesis is an intrinsic property of cancer cells, providing them necessary conditions for growth and metastasis. The “angiogenic switch” is one of the earliest consequences of malignant transformation; it involves altered expression of numerous genes and triggers a complex set of signaling pathways in endothelial cells. Processes of tumor microvascular network formation are closely associated with the stages of carcinogenesis (from appearance of benign lesions to invasive forms) and occur with numerous deviations from the norm. Analysis of expression of proangiogenic factors during sequential steps of cervical cancer development (intraepithelial neoplasia, cancer in situ, microinvasive, and invasive cancer) provides opportunity to reconstruct the regulatory mechanisms of angiogenesis/lymphangiogenesis with emphasis on the most important components. This review summarizes literature data on expression of key regulators of angiogenesis in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer and analyses their possible involvement in molecular mechanisms of neoplastic transformation of epithelial cells, as well as invasion and tumor metastasis. Correlation between expression of proangiogenic molecular factors and various clinicopathological parameters is considered in the context of their possible use in molecular diagnostics and targeted therapy of cervical cancer. Special attention is paid to rather poorly studied regulators of lymphangiogenesis and “non-VEGF dependent,” or alternative, angiogenic pathways that constitute the prospect of future research in the field.     

Immunization with a synthetic fragment 155–164 of neurotrophin receptor p75 prevents memory loss and decreases beta-amyloid level in mice with experimentally induced Alzheimer’s disease

Neurotoxic beta-amyloid peptide plays an important role in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. In aggregated form it binds to several proteins on the surface of the brain cells leading to their death. p75 receptor involved in supporting of cell balance is one of the targets for toxic beta-amyloid. We proposed that induction of antibodies against potential binding sites of p75 with beta-amyloid can be a promising approach towards development of new anti-Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Four potentially immunoactive fragments of p75 were chosen and chemically synthesized. Investigation of immunoprotective effect of the peptide fragments carried out in mice with experimentally induced form of Alzheimer’s disease helped to reveal two fragments effectively preserving murine memory from impairment. Results obtained by ELISA biochemical analysis showed that only immunization with fragment p75 155–164 led to significant decrease in beta-amyloid level in the brain of the experimental mice. Thus, immunization with both fragments of p75 receptor pro-vides a new insight into anti-Alzheimer’s disease drug design.     

Kinetics of reversible inhibition of cholinesterases by quaternary diaminoalkyl esters of aromatic dicarboxylic acids]

Reversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from bovine erythrocytes and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) from horse blood serum by quaternary diaminoalkyl esters of suberic (D-6), p-phenylenediacetic (PK-139), p-phenylenedipropionic (PK-154 and PK-155), p-phenylenediacrylic (PK-150 and PK-151) and phthalic (PK-105) acids, was studied under the following incubation conditions: pH 7.5, 25 degrees C, 0.1 M KCl. The inhibition kinetics were of a mixed competitive-incompetitive type, the incompetitive component alpha'-having higher values for AChE (0.26-0.60) than for BuChE (0.10-0.20). Diester PK-150 selectively inhibited BuChE (Ki=3.0-10(-6) M); its Ki value for AChE was 4.0-10(-4) M. The other diesters had a stronger inhibitory effect on AChE than on BuChE. High values of alpha' observed during AChE inhibition cannot be interpreted in terms of interaction of those bisquaternary compounds with the anionic site of the acetylated active centre and are probably due to their sorbtion at the peripheral anionic sites. Incompetitive inhibition constants (K'i=Ki/alpha') of BuChE by the diesters PK-139, PK-154 and PK-150 were found to be values of the same order as substrate inhibition constants determined in the course of BuChE hydrolysis of these diesters. Incompetitive inhibition found for the esters studied and substrate inhibition during hydrolysis of these compounds are presumably due to the same mechanism.     

γ-Irradiation of Barley Seeds and Its Effect on the Phytohormonal Status of Seedlings

We investigated the effect of γ-irradiation (4–50 Gy) of barley seeds (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Nur) on the content of endogenous phytohormones–stimulators of plant growth and development: indol-3-acetic acid (IAA), indolyl-3-butyric acid (IBA), zeatin and abscisic acid (ABA). The ratio (IAA + IBA + zeatin)/ABA from the third to the seventh day of germination has been measured. It was shown that the changes in the content of phytohormones as a function of the radiation dose were nonlinear. In the dose range of 4–20 Gy, phytohormones balance was changed due to increased content of growth stimulators and decreased ABA content. Using a dose of 50 Gy led primarily to a decrease in the content of growth stimulators and an increase in ABA content, and the ratio (IAA + IBA + zeatin)/ABA shifted toward ABA content.     

Long non‐coding RNAs in melanoma

Melanoma is the most lethal cutaneous cancer with a highly aggressive and metastatic phenotype. While recent genetic and epigenetic studies have shed new insights into the mechanism of melanoma development, the involvement of regulatory non‐coding RNAs remain unclear. Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a group of endogenous non‐protein‐coding RNAs with the capacity to regulate gene expression at multiple levels. Recent evidences have shown that lncRNAs can regulate many cellular processes, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and invasion. In the melanoma, deregulation of a number of lncRNAs, such as HOTAIR, MALAT1, BANCR, ANRIL, SPRY‐IT1 and SAMMSON, have been reported. Our review summarizes the functional role of lncRNAs in melanoma and their potential clinical application for diagnosis, prognostication and treatment.     

Synthesis, immunogenicity and antigenic characteristics of the glycoprotein E fragments from the tick-borne encephalitis virus]

Six peptide fragments of the envelope protein E of the tick-borne encephalitis virus involving the predicted T-helper epitopes were synthesized. Their ability to induce antibodies without conjugation with any high-molecular-mass carrier was studied in mice of three lines. Five of six synthesized peptides exhibited immunogenic properties, which differed in dependence on the haplotype of immunized mice. The peptide binding to the antiviral antibodies was studied, and two peptides were revealed that demonstrated a high ability to recognize the viral antibodies in the horse and human sera. These peptides are promising for the development of diagnostic agents for the tick-borne encephalitis virus.