Effects of 4-methyluracil and carnosine on healing of skin wounds in rats

In experiments in vivo and in vitro the authors studied antioxidative properties of 4-methyluracil and carnosine, their capacity to inhibit sex and accelerate healing of skin wounds. 4-methyluracil and carnosine discover almost the same capacity to decrease in the tissues of the wound and the blood serum in the formation of various intermediate products of free radical oxidation. Data are given on the study of the dynamics of wound healing after a 5-day treatment with equimolar quantities.     

Restriction analysis of autonomously replicating molecules containing exogenous DNA in a transgenic silkworm line]

Early embryos of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, were injected with plasmid p1,5LTR, harboring DNA copies of the Rous sarcoma long terminal repeats (LTR). Three generations of insects were obtained whose total DNA carried DNA sequences of the injected plasmid. Plasmid rescue method revealed that exogenous DNA was present in extrachromosomal molecules that harbored also cellular DNA sequences. A restriction map of the plasmid rescued from the F2 generator was constructed.     

Cross-action of extracellular stress adaptation factors in microorganisms]

The capacity of microorganisms from different taxa to adapt to stress conditions with the help of extracellular factors exhibiting similar mechanisms of action was demonstrated. The action of adaptation factors synthesized by the enteric bacterium Escherichia coli, the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis, and the yeast Candida utilis was characterized in biological tests. It was demonstrated that the factor of accelerated adaptation to new media (FAANM) and the growth-rate-reducing factor (factor X(II)), which decreases the rate of exponential culture growth, were synthesized by all microorganisms tested. Antilysin (factor X(I)), which accelerates cell adaptation to N-ethylmaleimide, was not produced by C. utilis.     

Effect of acute alcoholic intoxication on the antigenic composition of soluble proteins in the rat brain

Cross immunoelectrophoresis was used to study antigenic composition of the brain of rats preferring water, or 15% ethanol and of intermediate group animals. The rat brain showed 6 antigens, one of them was found to be neurospecific. The intermediate group animals and those preferring ethanol differed from those preferring water in that they demonstrated two antigens which were found to be neuro-nonspecific. The content of the neurospecific protein S-100 in the cerebellum measured by rocket immunoelectrophoresis was demonstrated to be the same in animals preferring water and ethanol. A single intraperitoneal injection of 25% ethanol (2.5 g/kg) to the intermediate group rats brought about a change in the composition of neuro-nonspecific soluble antigens of the brain.     

Enhanced brain penetration of hexamethonium in complexes with derivatives of fullerene C<Subscript>60</Subscript>

The present report describes development of hexamethonium complexes based on fullerene C₆₀. Hexamethonium has a limited penetration into CNS and therefore can antagonize central effects of nicotine only when given at high doses. In the present studies conducted in laboratory rodents, intraperitoneal administration of hexamethonium-fullerene complexes blocked effects of nicotine (convulsions and locomotor stimulation). When compared to equimolar doses of hexamethonium, complexes of hexamethonium with derivatives of fullerene C₆₀ were 40 times more potent indicating an enhanced ability to interact with central nicotine receptors. Thus, fullerene C₆₀ derivatives should be explored further as potential carrier systems for polar drug delivery into CNS.     

Novel efficient promoter of the mitochondrial porin,voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), in the genome of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Yarrowia lipolytica</Emphasis> yeast

This article presents the characteristics of the highly inducible promoter of the gene encoding the mitochondrial porin, the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC). This promoter is recommended for use in new genetic constructs both in basic research for assessing the adaptive strategy of lower eukaryotes under adverse conditions and in designing new highly competitive transformants producing economically important compounds (proteins, lipids, and organic acids) on its basis.     

Potassium Ions are More Effective than Sodium Ions in Salt Induced Peptide Formation

Prebiotic peptide formation under aqueous conditions in the presence of metal ions is one of the plausible triggers of the emergence of life. The salt-induced peptide formation reaction has been suggested as being prebiotically relevant and was examined for the formation of peptides in NaCl solutions. In previous work we have argued that the first protocell could have emerged in KCl solution. Using HPLC-MS/MS analysis, we found that K⁺ is more than an order of magnitude more effective in the L-glutamic acid oligomerization with 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole in aqueous solutions than the same concentration of Na⁺, which is consistent with the diffusion theory calculations. We anticipate that prebiotic peptides could have formed with K⁺ as the driving force, not Na⁺, as commonly believed.     

Effect of lithium ions on the growth of wheat roots and the role of phosphoinositide cycle in growth regulation]

The influence of lithium ions (LiCl in concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 mM) on the growth processes of roots of 2-5-day old wheat seedlings was studied. It was shown that the inhibition of the root growth increased with the increase of LiCl concentration and seedling age. The membrane potential of root cells was lower and the loss of K+ by cells was greater when roots were treated with 5 mM LiCl, compared with the control. The growth inhibition by lithium was decreased by univalent ions, partially by potassium at the beginning of growth and completely by sodium throughout the experimental period. The divalent ions calcium and barium decreased the Li(+)-induced inhibition of root growth by reducing the rate of lithium uptake by cells. Myoinositol, controlled by Li-sensitive inositolmonophosphatase, reversed the Li-induced root growth inhibition in 2-day old seedlings, but did not prevent the inhibition during subsequent elongation. It can be concluded that lithium effects on wheat root growth are mediated by a partial blockage of signal transduction for proliferation (via the phosphoinositide cycle), because of calcium deficiency and caused by modification of ion transporting systems of the plasmalemma, and by disturbance of ion gradients, primarily H+ and K+.