Property of a heat- and acid-stable inhibitor of serine proteinases from the blood serum to inhibit lymphcyte transformation stimulated by mitogens]

Thermo- and acid-stable serine proteases inhibitor from the rabbit blood serum (TASPI) was shown to inhibit the human peripheral blood lymphocytes transformation stimulated by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or concanavalin A. The extent of inhibition depended on the concentration of the preparation and its specific activity. The maximal inhibition of lymphocytes proliferation constituted 50 to 70%. TASPI displayed no cytotoxic activity. Considerably more effective inhibition was demonstrated by TASPI addition to the culture medium 24 hours after the addition of PHA. The antiprotease activity of crude human serum and that inactivated under different conditions is described. The results obtained suggest the participation of TASPI in the control of biological activity of the lymphoid tissue cells.     

Acute and delayed biochemical and physiological effects of exhaustive weightlifting exercise

The goal of the work was a study of the effect of exhaustive weightlifting exercise on prolonged changes in the physiological and biochemical variables characterizing the functional state of skeletal muscles. An exercise accentuated at muscles of the hip surface gave rise to a significant increase of the blood lactate concentration, which indicated that aerobic metabolism was a predominant mechanism of energy supply for muscle contraction. A reduction of the m. rectus femoris EMG amplitude and frequency, a decrease in the tone of tension, and an increase in the tone of relaxation were found immediately after exercise. One day later, the amplitude and the frequency of the EMG signal increased. On day 3, the activity of creatine kinase (CK, a marker of muscle injury) considerably increased, while the amplitude and frequency of EMG decreased. By the ninth day of recovery, all measured variables with the exception of CK were normalized. A significant negative correlation was found between the blood serum’s lactate concentration and m. rectus femoris EMG activity at the same time points. Blood serum CK activity and m. rectus femoris EMG and tone parameters were significantly correlated on the third postexercise day. The data demonstrate that exhaustive exercise-induced muscle injury resulted in phasic alterations in the electrical activity and the tone of the muscle apparently related to a decrease in pH because of lactate accumulation in the sarcoplasm and the cascade of reactions leading to muscle tissue damage.     

Selection of reliable reference genes for qRT-PCR analysis in human non-cancerous gastric tissue

Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) is the standard method for studying changes in relative gene expression in complex diseases like obesity and gastritis. However, variations in amount of starting material, enzymatic efficiency and presence of amplification inhibitors can lead to quantification errors. Hence, the need for accurate data normalization is vital. Among several known strategies for data normalization, the use of reference genes as an internal control is the most common approach. Human gastric tissue has been the least investigated for stability of reference gene expression. In this study, three popular algorithms, GeNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper were used to evaluate the reference gene stability. Conclusion: HPRT1 and GAPDH are the best performing pair of reference genes for qRT-PCR profiling experiments involving non-malignant gastric tissue samples.     

Intra-individual polymorphism of human Y chromosome as a result of deletion in the heterochromatin region

Two equal cell populations with Y-heterochromatin of different lengths were found in a sterile male with azoospermia. There was no evidence for translocation of the heterochromatic material to other chromosomes. Both cell lines have the same Q-, C- and Ag-NOR patterns of chromosomal differential staining. The Y-chromosomes of both the father and brother were as long as the longest of the two populations in the proband. This intraindividual heteromorphism of Y-chromosome is, probably, a result of Y-heterochromatin deletion during the first mitotic division of the zygote, with the loss of a fragment as long as the difference between the long and the short Y populations in the proband. Intraindividual chromosomal heteromorphism is a convenient model to study reasons for variability in the heterochromatin regions of chromosomes.     

Several peculiarities of the purine-base fixation of the substrate in the active sites of myosin Ca2+-ATPase

A comparative study of kinetic parameters (Km and V) of hydrolysis by heavy meromyosin of several synthetic ATP analogs with substituents at positions N(1) and N(C6) of the purine ring was carried out. Analysis of changes in the Km values suggests that the purine base of ATP is fixed in the active center due to the formation of a hydrogen bond between N1 and the proton donor group of the protein as well as between the 6-NH2-amino group of the nucleotide and the proton acceptor group of the protein. It was shown that the rate of catalytic conversion of the substrate is determined by the mode of binding of its purine ring. Depending on the properties of the substituent radical, the latter either prevents the binding by causing little or no increase in the rate of hydrolysis or causes the displacement of the whole substrate molecule in the active center, which leads to the deceleration of hydrolysis.     

Change in the content and biosynthesis of RNA in the process of development of a Saccharomyces carlsbergensis culture]

The concentration of RNA in the cells of Saccharamyces carlsbergensis was found to vary from 3.51 to 7.54% with aging. A high content of RNA, a high rate of the incorporation of 14C-uridine into RNA and the acid-soluble fraction are typical of the cells in the logarithmic phase of growth. The total RNA can be separated into three zones on Sephadex G-100. No changes in the chromatographic profile were detected with aging.     

A comparative study in vitro of physiological activity of triterpene glycosides of marine invertebrates of echinoderm type

1. The cytostatic and antimicrobial activity of triterpene glycosides of 19 holothurian species of the Pacific tropical zone has been studied. 2. It has been demonstrated that yeast and tumor cells display a comparable sensibility to the action of triterpene oligosides of sea cucumbers. 3. Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria are not sensible to the action of glycosides in doses to 500 mkg/ml. 4. Triterpene glycosides-stichoposides, thelothurins and oligosides of Holothuria of genus Bohadschia are the most active in relation to fungal, yeast microflora and tumor cells.