The role of low molecular weight proteins in exposure of blood to laser radiation and varying magnetic field

In this work we studied variations of oxygen-binding capacity of hemoglobin under the separate and joint action of a nanointegrator—a special device that provides a low-intensity laser radiation (LILR, 655 nm)—and an alternating magnetic field (AMF) on blood (erythrocytes and plasma) in the presence of low molecular weight proteins (LWP). The action of LILR and AMF is demonstrated to increase oxygen absorption by 50% and, in the presence of LWP, by 80–100%. LILR reduces the activity of a blood enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) by 60% and, in the presence of LWP, by 40%. The joint action of LILR and AMF first stimulates and, after 30 min, inhibits SOD activity. It is shown that LILR and AMF action not only changes the anti-oxidant status of blood, but also promotes oxygen uptake by erythrocytes. The effect of radiation is enhanced due to nanomolecular changes in LWP structure that boost the absorption of oxygen by cells.     

Late sequelae of exposure to ionizing radiation with various LET's. Effect of dose rate and fractionation on changes in the life span of rats

In experiments with 2120 albino mongrel rats their life span was followed up after the effect of various types of radiation (for instance, gamma-neutron radiation of 0.9 MeV and gamma- and X-rays) at different exposure schedules (that is, whole-body irradiation with doses from LD0/30 to LD100/30 and fractionated at 24 and 72 hour intervals and dose--rates varying from 0.00042 Gy/min to 1.02 Gy/min). The type of radiation, the dose--rate, single and cumulative doses, the number of fractions and the interval between them were estimated with respect to their contribution to life span shortening.     

On the Parametric Approach to Survival Data Analysis I. Radiobiological Applications

Acute radiation injury and postirradiation recovery have been formalized in terms of a Markovian homogeneous process of the random walk with a finite set of states, two absorbing barriers and continuous time. The distribution of time for such a process to reach (for the first time) the upper absorbing barrier was earlier obtained by SAATY (1961) and within the proposed model it coincides with the life span distribution for irradiated animals. The possibilities of finding the maximum likelihood estimates of unknown parameters are investigated by means of simulating experiments performed with a computer assistance. On the basis of simulation results the applicability of the proposed distribution for the purposes of survival data analysis is discussed. Extension of the model to accomodate two (or more) radiation syndromes is presented.     

Copy number and nucleotide variation of the LILR family of myelomonocytic cell activating and inhibitory receptors

Leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptors (LILR) are cell surface molecules that regulate the activities of myelomonocytic cells through the balance of inhibitory and activation signals. LILR genes are located within the leukocyte receptor complex (LRC) on chromosome 19q13.4 adjacent to KIR genes, which are subject to allelic and copy number variation (CNV). LILRB3 (ILT5) and LILRA6 (ILT8) are highly polymorphic receptors with similar extracellular domains. LILRB3 contains inhibitory ITIM motifs and LILRA6 is coupled to an adaptor with activating ITAM motifs. We analysed the sequences of the extracellular immunoglobulin domain-encoding regions of LILRB3 and LILRA6 in 20 individuals, and determined the copy number of these receptors, in addition to those of other members of the LILR family. We found 41 polymorphic sites within the extracellular domains of LILRB3 and LILRA6. Twenty-four of these sites were common to both receptors. LILRA6, but not LILRB3, exhibited CNV. In 20 out of 48 human cell lines from the International Histocompatibility Working Group, LILRA6 was deleted or duplicated. The only other LILR gene exhibiting genomic aberration was LILRA3, in this case due to a partial deletion.     

Mutations induced by X-ray irradiation and certain chemical reagents that alter the life span of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>

Survivorship curves are constructed and the life span parameters in mutant Drosophila melanogaster lines obtained as a result of induction by X-ray irradiation (3000 rad) as well as the combined action of X-ray irradiation and certain chemical agents are analyzed. It is shown that most of these mutant lines are characterized by a reduction in vitality and a shortening of life span. By means of blot hybridization in the Sausern modification it is shown that insertion-excision processes in the genes white and cut may be among the factors responsible for rapid dying off of the imago. A series of neurodegenerative mutants is obtained from the effect of ethylnitrosourea on the basis of the Oregon wild type line. In these mutants vitality is reduced and the shortened life span indicators are correlated with the time when a change appears in the brain structures.     

No lengthening of life span in mice continuously exposed to gamma rays at very low dose rates

Late effects of continuous exposure to ionizing radiation are potential hazards to workers in radiation facilities as well as to the general public. Recently, low-dose-rate and low-dose effects have become a serious concern. Using a total of 4000 mice, we studied the late biological effects of chronic exposure to low-dose-rate radiation as assayed by life span. Two thousand male and 2000 female 8-week-old specific-pathogen-free (SPF) B6C3F1 mice were randomly divided into four groups (one nonirradiated control and three irradiated). Irradiation was carried out for approximately 400 days using (137)Cs gamma rays at dose rates of 21 mGy day(-1), 1.1 mGy day(-1) and 0.05 mGy day(-1) with total doses equivalent to 8000 mGy, 400 mGy and 20 mGy, respectively. All mice were kept under SPF conditions until they died spontaneously. Statistical analyses showed that the life spans of mice of both sexes irradiated with 21 mGy day(-1) (P < 0.0001) and of females irradiated with 1.1 mGy day(-1) (P < 0.05) were significantly shorter than those of the control group. Our results show no evidence of lengthened life span in mice continuously exposed to very low dose rates of gamma rays.     

Effect of gamma- and gamma-neutron irradiation on the composition of the metabolic amino acid pool, blood antiprotease activity and the life-span of animals

A study was made of the effect of gamma- and gamma-neutron-radiation, with neutron energy of 0.9 MeV, on the free amino acid composition and antiprotease activity of blood as well as on the life span of albino mongrel rats. The data obtained indicate that changes in the metabolic pool of blood amino acids and inhibitory capacity of blood with respect to alpha 2-macroglobulin depend upon the type and dose of radiation. An attempt is made to find a correlation between early changes in the metabolic pool of amino acids and antiprotease activity and the degree of life span shortening after gamma- and gamma-neutron irradiation.     

UV-B胁迫小麦上麦长管蚜的生命表参数和取食行为

【目的】为明确UV-B胁迫小麦对麦长管蚜Sitobion avenae (Fabricius)种群生命表参数和取食行为的影响。【方法】采用特定年龄生命表方法和刺探电位图谱（EPG）技术, 研究了不同强度UV-B胁迫处理小麦对麦长管蚜生命表参数和取食行为的影响。【结果】生命表结果表明, 取食高强度（0.75 mW/cm²） UV-B辐射小麦后, 麦长管蚜种群内禀增长率r_m、 净增殖率R₀、 繁殖力F下降, 平均世代周期T缩短, 且差异显著(P<0.05); 取食低强度（0.2 mW/cm²）UV-B辐射小麦后, 麦长管蚜种群生命表参数与对照组（正常光照处理小麦饲喂的蚜虫种群）无显著差异(P>0.05)。刺探电位图谱结果显示, 高强度UV-B处理组np波(即非取食)数量显著增加, pd波（刺探波）首次出现的时间延迟, 表明紫外处理小麦干扰了蚜虫的在叶表面的正常刺探活动, 延长了搜索和刺探时间; C波持续时间显著延长, 反映取食难度加大, 有效取食时间缩短, 从而影响种群生命表参数; 而低强度UV-B处理组小麦对蚜虫取食行为影响与对照组差异不显著, 但pd波首次出现时间显著延长。【结论】高强度UV-B胁迫小麦会严重影响麦长管蚜的生长发育、 繁殖与取食行为。     

Characteristics of the carcinogenic effectiveness of 645 MeV protons and 60Co gamma-irradiation

The carcinogenic effect of 645 MeV protons and 60Co-gamma-rays (1, 2 and 4 Gy) on mongrel female rats was comparatively studied. The observations were made throughout the entire life span of the exposed animals. Revealed were a similar biological effectiveness of the two types of radiation and a common nature of the carcinogenic transformations.     

Information theory of ageing: Studying the effect of bone marrow transplantation on the life span of mice

In this paper the method of life span extension of multicellular organisms (human) using reservation of stem cells followed by autotransplantation has been proposed. As the efficiency of this method results from the information theory of ageing, it is important to verify it experimentally testing the basic concepts of the theory. Taking it into consideration, the experiment on bone marrow transplantation to old mice from young closely related donors of the inbred line was carried out. It has been shown that transplanted animals exhibited a survival advantage, a mean life span increased by 34% as compared to the control. This result not only demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed method for life span extension of multicellular organisms, but also confirms the basis of the information theory of ageing.     

Effect of continuous irradiation with a very low dose of gamma rays on life span and the immune system in SJL mice prone to B-cell lymphoma

Ionizing radiation has been shown to have dose- and dose-rate-dependent carcinogenic effects on the hematopoietic and lymphoreticular systems. We report here that continuous exposure to a low dose of gamma rays influences the course of spontaneous B-cell lymphoma in SJL mice. We studied the biological effects of 10 cGy year(-1) gamma rays on the life span of 560 4-week-old SJL/J female mice and on various parameters of the cell-mediated immune response. Life span was slightly prolonged. The mean survival was 397 days for controls and 417 days for irradiated mice that died with lymphoma (P = 0.34). In lymph nodes and spleen, lower percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were observed in irradiated mice before 32 weeks. Interestingly, the percentages of CD49+ NK cells were increased in the spleens of irradiated mice at 28 weeks (0.61 +/- 0.08% compared to 0.43 +/- 0.12% in controls, P = 0.01) and at 32 weeks (0.62 +/- 0.24% compared to 0.33 +/- 0.09%, P = 0.02), while NK cell activity remained unchanged in exposed mice. These results provide further support for the absence of harmful effects of a continuous very low dose of radiation on life span and incidence of lymphoma in SJL mice.     

Characterization of conditionally expressed mutants affecting age-specific survival in inbred lines of Drosophila melanogaster: lethal conditions and temperature-sensitive periods

The specific genetic basis of inbreeding depression is poorly understood. To address this question, two conditionally expressed lethal effects that were found to cause line-specific life span reductions in two separate inbred lines of Drosophila melanogaster were characterized phenotypically and genetically in terms of whether the accelerated mortality effects are dominant or recessive. The mortality effect in one line (I4) is potentially a temperature-sensitive semilethal that expresses in adult males only and is partially dominant. The other line (I10) responds as one would expect for a recessive lethal. It requires a cold shock for expression and is cold sensitive. Flies exhibiting this lethal condition responded as pupae and freshly eclosed imagoes. The effect is recessive in both males and females. The expression of the lethal effects in both lines is highly dependent upon environmental conditions. These results will serve as a basis for more detailed and mechanistic genetic research on inbreeding depression and are relevant to sex- and environment-specific effects on life span observed in quantitative trait loci studies using inbred lines.     

HLA class I allelic sequence and conformation regulate leukocyte Ig-like receptor binding

Leukocyte Ig-like receptors (LILRs) are a family of innate immune receptors predominantly expressed by myeloid cells that can alter the Ag presentation properties of macrophages and dendritic cells. Several LILRs bind HLA class I. Altered LILR recognition due to HLA allelic variation could be a contributing factor in disease. We comprehensively assessed LILR binding to >90 HLA class I alleles. The inhibitory receptors LILRB1 and LILRB2 varied in their level of binding to different HLA alleles, correlating in some cases with specific amino acid motifs. LILRB2 displayed the weakest binding to HLA-B*2705, an allele genetically associated with several autoimmune conditions and delayed progression of HIV infection. We also assessed the effect of HLA class I conformation on LILR binding. LILRB1 exclusively bound folded β(2)-microglobulin-associated class I, whereas LILRB2 bound both folded and free H chain forms. In contrast, the activating receptor LILRA1 and the soluble LILRA3 protein displayed a preference for binding to HLA-C free H chain. To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify the ligand of LILRA3. These findings support the hypothesis that LILR-mediated detection of unfolded versus folded MHC modulates immune responses during infection or inflammation.     

The growth,flower properties and demography of Anthemis arvensis exposed to enhanced UV-B radiation

The winter annual species Anthemis arvensis L. (Asteraceae) was grown for 3.5 months in the field under ambient or ambient plus supplemental UV-B radiation, simulating a 15% ozone depletion over Patras (38.3° N, 29.1° E). Enhanced UV-B radiation had no effect on the methanol extractable UV-B absorbing capacity of leaves, phenological and morphometric parameters of anthesis (flowering time, anthesis duration, head life span, number of heads per plant, number of tubular and ligulate florets per head, area per ligulate floret). Concerning the optical properties of heads, enhanced UV-B radiation had no significant effect on the extractable absorbance of both floret types nor on the spectral reflectance of the tubular florets. However, under UV-B supplementation the white ligulate florets exhibited a slight, statistically significant decrease of reflectance in the visible region of the spectrum. This may be due to structural changes of the floret surface, since microscopic examination under SEM revealed the papillae of the adaxial epidermal cells to be swollen. The above ground dry mass measured at plant harvest was not affected but a significant increase in root biomass (and accordingly in root/shoot ratio) was observed. We conclude that Anthemis arvensis is resistant against UV-B radiation damage. The possible consequences of UV-B induced structural changes on floret epidermis are discussed.     

The Leukocyte Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor Family Member LILRB5 Binds to HLA-Class I Heavy Chains

Objective

The leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor (LILR) family includes inhibitory and stimulatory members which bind to classical and non-classical HLA-class I. The ligands for many LILR including LILRB5 have not yet been identified.

Methods

We generated C-terminal eGFP and N-terminal FLAG-tagged fusion constructs for monitoring LILR expression. We screened for LILR binding to HLA-class I by tetramer staining of 293T cells transfected with LILRA1, A4, A5 A6 and LILRB2 and LILRB5. We also studied HLA class I tetramer binding to LILRB5 on peripheral monocyte cells. LILRB5 binding to HLA-class I heavy chains was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation.

Results

HLA-B27 (B27) free heavy chain (FHC) dimer but not other HLA-class I stained LILRB5-transfected 293T cells. B27 dimer binding to LILRB5 was blocked with the class I heavy chain antibody HC10 and anti-LILRB5 antisera. B27 dimers also bound to LILRB5 on peripheral monocytes. HLA-B7 and B27 heavy chains co-immunoprecipitated with LILRB5 in transduced B and rat basophil RBL cell lines.

Conclusions

Our findings show that class I free heavy chains are ligands for LILRB5. The unique binding specificity of LILRB5 for HLA-class I heavy chains probably results from differences in the D1 and D2 immunoglobulin-like binding domains which are distinct from other LILR which bind to β2m-associated HLA-class I.     

A cost-benefit analysis of acclimation to low irradiance in tropical rainforest tree seedlings: leaf life span and payback time for leaf deployment

The maintenance in the long run of a positive carbon balance under very low irradiance is a prerequisite for survival of tree seedlings below the canopy or in small gaps in a tropical rainforest. To provide a quantitative basis for this assumption, experiments were carried out to determine whether construction cost (CC) and payback time for leaves and support structures, as well as leaf life span (i) differ among species and (ii) display an irradiance-elicited plasticity. Experiments were also conducted to determine whether leaf life span correlates to CC and payback time and is close to the optimal longevity derived from an optimization model. Saplings from 13 tropical tree species were grown under three levels of irradiance. Specific-CC was computed, as well as CC scaled to leaf area at the metamer level. Photosynthesis was recorded over the leaf life span. Payback time was derived from CC and a simple photosynthesis model. Specific-CC displayed only little interspecific variability and irradiance-elicited plasticity, in contrast to CC scaled to leaf area. Leaf life span ranged from 4 months to >26 months among species, and was longest in seedlings grown under lowest irradiance. It was always much longer than payback time, even under the lowest irradiance. Leaves were shed when their photosynthesis had reached very low values, in contrast to what was predicted by an optimality model. The species ranking for the different traits was stable across irradiance treatments. The two pioneer species always displayed the smallest CC, leaf life span, and payback time. All species displayed a similar large irradiance-elicited plasticity.