Changes in Ca, Mg-dependent endonuclease of DNA in isolated nuclei of human lymphocytes in lymphoproliferative diseases

Ca, Mg-dependent endonuclease is one of the main DNAses of lymphocyte chromatin. It's activity is known to increase in the immune response and to decrease in spontaneous and experimental CLL. These observations became a basis for analysis of possible clinical meaning of it's enzymatic activity assay. Donors' peripheral blood lymphocytes being tested, normal level of endonucleolysis for men and children was defined. Except that patients with different clinical forms of lymphoproliferative diseases such as chronic lympholeukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphomas, Hodgkin's disease were observed. The results showed that Ca, Mg-dependent endonucleolysis activity was decreased in comparison to donors' one. Ca, Mg-dependent endonucleolysis activity was the same in the group of patients with non-malignant pathology and in donors' one. Successful treatment and remission state of our patients was associated with alteration of the Ca, Mg-dependent endonucleolysis activity to normal level as well as immunological parameters. That is why the activity of Ca, Mg-dependent endonucleolysis is suggested to be a new criterion of immune state and lymphocyte malignant transformation.     

On Problems of the Comprehensive Chemical Profiling of Medicinal Plants

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry - The interest in and attention to herbal therapy rise in Russia every year, which is in agreement with the worldwide tendency. Support for the increasing...     

CD4+ T cell responses elicited by different subsets of human skin migratory dendritic cells

Skin dendritic cells (DC) are professional APC critical for initiation and control of adaptive immunity. In the present work we have analyzed the CD4+ T cell stimulatory function of different subsets of DC that migrate spontaneously from human skin explants, including CD1a+CD14- Langerhans' cells (LC), CD1a-CD14- dermal DC (DDC), and CD1a-CD14+ LC precursors. Skin migratory DC consisted of APC at different stages of maturation-activation that produced IL-10, TGF-beta1, IL-23p19, and IL-12p40, but did not release IL-12p70 even after exposure to DC1-driving stimuli. LC and DDC migrated as mature/activated APC able to stimulate allogeneic naive CD4+ T cells and to induce memory Th1 cells in the absence of IL-12p70. The potent CD4+ T cell stimulatory function of LC and DDC correlated with their high levels of expression of MHC class II, adhesion, and costimulatory molecules. The Th1-biasing function of LC and DDC depended on their ability to produce IL-23. By contrast, CD1a-CD14+ LC precursors migrated as immature-semimature APC and were weak stimulators of allogeneic naive CD4+ T cells. However, and opposite of a potential tolerogenic role of immature DC, the T cell allostimulatory and Th1-biasing function of CD14+ LC precursors increased significantly by augmenting their cell number, prolonging the time of interaction with responding T cells, or addition of recombinant human IL-23 in MLC. The data presented in this study provide insight into the function of the complex network of skin-resident DC that migrate out of the epidermis and dermis after cutaneous immunizations, pathogen infections, or allograft transplantation.     

Functional activity of endotoxin binding factors in chronic viral hepatitis B and C

The functional state of cell-mediated and humoral antiendotoxin factors in patients with chronic viral hepatitides B and C has been studied. A decreased content of antibodies to glycolipid of chemotype Re and to Escherichia coli O14 with common enterobacterial antigen was shown to occur in these diseases. In addition, a decreased number of neutrophils, eosinophils and thrombocytes has been noted. The conclusion has been made that patients with chronic hepatitides are not protected from the pathogenic action of endotoxin penetrating from the intestines into the systemic blood stream.     

Age-Related Left Ventricular Changes and Their Association with Leukocyte Telomere Length in Healthy People

Introduction

With advancing age the left ventricle (LV) undergoes structural and functional changes, thereby creating the substrate for the development of diseases. One possible mechanism of the ageing heart is a cellular senescence. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a marker of replicative ageing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the structure and function of the LV in people of different ages free of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and regular drug medication and to assess their relationship with LTL. We hypothesized that age-related changes in LV myocardium are associated with telomere length.

Methods

The study population consisted of 150 healthy, non-obese volunteers aged 28 to 78 years without history of CVD, significant deviations by 12-lead electrocardiogram and negative exercise test (treadmill stress test). All the participants underwent standardized transthoracic echocardiography using an available system (iE33; Philips). The LTL was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We determined the relative ratio of telomere repeat copy number (T) to single-copy gene copy number (S).

Results

In the older people there was a higher wall thickness than in the younger (1.03±0.09 vs. 0.88±0.10, p<0.01), whereas LV mass index was comparable between them (85.8±15.40 vs. 83.1±11.8, p = 0.20). There was a decrease in LV dimensions with advancing age (p<0.001). Older subjects had impairment in LV relaxation. LTL was associated with decreased E/A, Em/Am ratio (β = -0.323, p = 0.0001) after adjusting for age, sex and risk factors. There is no relation between the LTL and the structure of LV.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that the ageing process leads to changes in LV structure and diastolic function and is linked with a phenotype of concentric LV remodeling. Telomere attrition is associated with age-related LV diastolic dysfunction. Telomere length appears to be a biomarker of myocardial ageing.