Correlation of the antioxidant and coagulating blood systems under physiologic conditions

Examinations carried out on intact animals and healthy people have revealed a paired and multiple correlation with exists between thromboplastic properties of erythrocytes, the level of malondialdehyde accumulation in their membranes and the superoxide dismutase activity.     

Inborn defects in the antioxidant systems of human red blood cells

Red blood cells (RBCs) contain large amounts of iron and operate in highly oxygenated tissues. As a result, these cells encounter a continuous oxidative stress. Protective mechanisms against oxidation include prevention of formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), scavenging of various forms of ROS, and repair of oxidized cellular contents. In general, a partial defect in any of these systems can harm RBCs and promote senescence, but is without chronic hemolytic complaints. In this review we summarize the often rare inborn defects that interfere with the various protective mechanisms present in RBCs. NADPH is the main source of reduction equivalents in RBCs, used by most of the protective systems. When NADPH becomes limiting, red cells are prone to being damaged. In many of the severe RBC enzyme deficiencies, a lack of protective enzyme activity is frustrating erythropoiesis or is not restricted to RBCs. Common hereditary RBC disorders, such as thalassemia, sickle-cell trait, and unstable hemoglobins, give rise to increased oxidative stress caused by free heme and iron generated from hemoglobin. The beneficial effect of thalassemia minor, sickle-cell trait, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency on survival of malaria infection may well be due to the shared feature of enhanced oxidative stress. This may inhibit parasite growth, enhance uptake of infected RBCs by spleen macrophages, and/or cause less cytoadherence of the infected cells to capillary endothelium.     

Thrombolytic activity of terrilytin and its effect on the coagulating system of the blood]

The preliminary incubation of fibrinogen with terrilytin in vitro delayed the formation of the clot and accelerated the subsequent lysis. Terrylitin (in vitro) prolonged the recalcification time, lowered the thromboplastic activity and that of fibrinase, and also enhanced the fibrinolytic activity of the blood plasma. In experiments on dogs roentgenovasography revealed a considerable thrombolytic activity of terrilytin following its intravenous infusion to the animals with experimental thrombosis of the femoral veins.     

Physiological mechanisms of temperature biofeedback

Research on the physiological mechanisms of finger temperature biofeedback with normal subjects and Raynaud's disease patients is reviewed. Studies conducted in the author's laboratory have shown that feedback-induced vasodilation is mediated through a non-neural, -adrenergic mechanism rather than through reductions in sympathetic nervous system activation. In contrast, feedback-induced vasoconstriction is mediated through the traditional, sympathetic nervous pathway. When used with primary Raynaud's disease patients, feedback-induced vasodilation has achieved reductions in reported symptom frequency ranging from 66% to 92% in controlled investigations. Future research directions are discussed.Research conducted by the author was supported by research grants Nos. HL-23828, HL-30604, and AG-05233 from NIH. I am grateful for the collaboration of the following colleagues during the 14 years of work reported here: Peter Ianni, Dena Norton, Paul Wenig, Subhash Sabharwal, Maureen Mayes, Nagraj Desai, Michael Morris, Peter Migály, and Stewart Vining.     

Physiological mechanisms of color constancy

Color constancy is the term given to the ability to recognize the color of objects correctly under different conditions of illumination. For this purpose the visual system must determine the character of the illumination, introduce a correction for it into the spectal composition of the light received from the object, and hence recreate the true color of its surface. Behavioral experiments on fish showed that they possess constant color vision of objects. Electrophysiological experiments on ganglion cells of the color type showed that the simplest mechanisms of correction for illumination are found at the retinal level. An investigation of model algorithms providing for color constancy showed thatthe presence of color vision makes it much easier to recognize the three-dimensional form of objects. This fact compels a reexamination of established views regarding the place and role of color vision in functions of the animal visual system as a whole.Institute for Problems in Information Transmission, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 21–26, January–February, 1975.     

Principles of the maximum development of the reserve potentialities of the bone marrow CFUf system following exposure to ionizing radiation

In this work, the regularities in the occurrence of a highly pronounced postirradiation increase in CFUf of bone marrow (CFUf "peak") were investigated and quantitative approaches permitting to predict absolute CFUf "peak" values at various radiation doses developed.     

Glutamate and aspartate alleviate testicular/epididymal oxidative stress by supporting antioxidant enzymes and immune defense systems in boars

Several potential oxidative agents have damaging effects on mammalian reproductive systems. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of glutamate(Glu) and aspartate(Asp) supplementation on antioxidant enzymes and immune defense systems in the outer scrotum of boars injected with H_2O_2. A total of 24 healthy boars were randomly divided into 4 treatment groups: control(basal diet, saline-treated), H_2O_2(basal diet, H_2O_2-challenged outer scrotum(1 m L kg–1 BW)), Glu(basal diet+2% Glu, H_2O_2-challenged), and Asp(basal diet+2% Asp, H_2O_2-challenged). Our results showed that both Glu and Asp supplementation improved testicular morphology and decreased the genital index in the H_2O_2-treated boars. Glu and Asp administration increased the antioxidant enzyme activities and affected the testicular inflammatory cytokine secretion but had no effect on sex hormone levels. Furthermore, the m RNA expression of CAT, Cu Zn SOD, and GPx4 was altered in the testes and epididymis of boars treated with Asp and Glu. Glu and Asp supplementation also modulated the expression of TGF-β1, IL-10,TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β in the testis and epididymis. These results indicate that dietary Glu and Asp supplementation might enhance antioxidant capacity and regulate the secretion and expression of inflammatory cytokines to protect the testes and epididymis of boars against oxidative stress.     

Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant systems in the blood of young rats subjected to chronic fluoride toxicity

Wistar albino rats were exposed to 30 or 100 ppm fluoride in drinking water during their fetal, weanling and post-weaning stages of life up to puberty. Extent of lipid peroxidation and response of the antioxidant systems in red blood cells and plasma to prolonged fluoride exposure were assessed in these rats in comparison to the control rats fed with permissible level (0.5 ppm) of fluoride. Rats treated with 100 ppm fluoride showed enhanced lipid peroxidation as evidenced by elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in red blood cells but, 30 ppm fluoride did not cause any appreciable change in RBC MDA level. 30 ppm fluoride-intake resulted in increased levels of total and reduced glutathione in red blood cells and ascorbic acid in plasma while 100 ppm fluoride resulted in decreases in these levels. The activity of RBC glutathione peroxidase was elevated in both the fluoride-treated groups, more pronounced increase was seen with 100 ppm. Reduced to total glutathione ratio in RBC and uric acid levels in plasma decreased in both the groups. RBC superoxide dismutase activity decreased significantly on high-fluoride treatment. These results suggest that long-term high-fluoride intake at the early developing stages of life enhances oxidative stress in the blood, thereby disturbing the antioxidant defense of rats. Increased oxidative stress could be one of the mediating factors in the pathogenesis of toxic manifestations of fluoride.     

Physiological and circuit mechanisms of postural control

The postural system maintains a specific body orientation and equilibrium during standing and during locomotion in the presence of many destabilizing factors (external and internal). Numerous studies in humans have revealed essential features of the functional organization of this system. Recent studies on different animal models have significantly supplemented human studies. They have greatly expanded our knowledge of how the control system operates, how the postural functions are distributed within different parts of CNS, and how these parts interact with each other to produce postural corrections and adjustments. This review outlines recent advances in the studies of postural control in quadrupeds, with special attention given the neuronal postural mechanisms.     

Physiological blocking of the mechanisms of the cold death

Physiological mechanisms of the cold paralyses of the main, most important functions during deep hypothermia of a homeothermic organism were studied. The reasons for the organism death upon deep cooling were revealed. The cold paralyses and the following organism death were shown to be accounted for to a great extent by the specific impairments in the ion exchange between the nervous cells of vegetative brain centers and the intercellular medium and the blood. Removing these impairments with the help of the methods developed in the authors laboratory allows the lost physiological functions of an organism to be restored for a time without rewarming the body.