Relation between activity of antioxidants and oxidation of substrates in natural lipids

Using chemiluminescence method, the oxidation level of lipids extracted from various organs and tissues of fish Coregonus peled (Gmelin) was investigated. The analysis of interrelation between the oxidation level, quantity and composition of phospholipids (PL), fatty acids (FA), natural antioxidants (NAO) was carried out. The oxidation level of the lipids under investigation is shown to increase in series: first go internal fat lipids, then--lipids of brain, white muscles, immature eggs, red muscles, liver. The lipid oxidation level was found to correlate with the quantity of PL, fraction content of phosphatidylethanolamine and cardiolipin, and concentration of the sum of polyunsaturated FA with the index of (20:5 divided by 22:6). It is shown that there is a regularity in the process of distribution in lipids both the sum of natural inhibitors, and individual AO, such as tocopherol, ubiquinone, ubichromenol, the quantity of which increases in accordance with the rising oxidation level of lipid substrate.     

Core alpha1,3-fucose is a key part of the epitope recognized by antibodies reacting against plant N-linked oligosaccharides and is present in a wide variety of plant extracts

Carbohydrates have been suggested to account for some IgE cross- reactions between various plant, insect, and mollusk extracts, while some IgG antibodies have been successfully raised against plant glycoproteins. A rat monoclonal antibody raised against elderberry abscission tissue (YZ1/2.23) and rabbit polyclonal antiserum against horseradish peroxidase were screened for reactivity in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay against a range of plant glycoproteins and extracts as well as neoglycoproteins, bee venom phospholipase, and several animal glycoproteins. Of the oligosaccharides tested, Man3XylFucGlcNAc2(MMXF3) derived from horseradish peroxidase was the most potent inhibitor of the reactivity of both YZ1/2.23 and anti- horseradish peroxidase to native horseradish peroxidase glycoprotein. The reactivity of YZ1/2. 23 and anti-horseradish peroxidase against Sophora japonica lectin was most inhibited by a neoglycoconjugate of bromelain glycopeptide cross-linked to bovine serum albumin, while the defucosylated form of this conjugate was inactive as an inhibitor. A wide range of plant extracts was found to react against YZ1/2.23 and anti-horseradish peroxidase, with particularly high reactivities recorded for grass pollen and nut extracts. All these reactivities were inhibitable with the bromelain glycopeptide/bovine serum albumin conjugate. Bee venom phospholipase and whole bee venom reacted weakly with YZ1/2.23 but more strongly with anti-horseradish peroxidase in a manner inhibitable with the bromelain glycopeptide/bovine serum albumin conjugate, while hemocyanin from Helix pomatia reacted poorly with YZ1/2.23 but did react with anti-horseradish peroxidase. It is concluded that the alpha1, 3-fucose residue linked to the chitobiose core of plant glycoproteins is the most important residue in the epitope recognized by the two antibodies studied, but that the polyclonal anti-horseradish peroxidase antiserum also contains antibody populations that recognize the xylose linked to the core mannose of many plant and gastropod N-linked oligosaccharides.      

Cloning of genes, purification and properties investigation of recombinant DNA ligases from the thermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus abyssi and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum

The genes encoding of DNA ligases from the thermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus abyssi (PabDNA ligase) and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum (MthDNA ligase) were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The activity of purified enzymes was studied by ligation of two oligonucleotides, one of which had preformed hairpin structure. In the used system the maximal output of reaction products for both DNA ligases was observed near 70 degrees C that is explained by substrate thermostability. At stoichiometric ratio of enzymes and substrate the output of a product reaches of plateau at 70-75% of theoretical ones. Investigated DNA ligases showed different thermostability. The half-time life of PabDNA ligase was about 60 min at 90 degrees C. MthDNA ligase was completely inactivated at this temperature during 10 min. Recombinant DNA ligases from P. abyssi and M. thermoautotrophicum possessed high stability during a storage at 4 degrees C.     

Experimental study on the therapeutic effect of liposome-entrapped antibiotics in the treatment of destructive pneumonia]

The data on preparation of liposome-entrapped gentamicin sulfate and cefoperazone and their investigation on albino mice with staphylococcal destructive pneumonia are presented. Comparative study of the efficacy of gentamicin sulfate and cefoperazone in free and liposome-entrapped forms showed that immobilization of the antibiotics in phospholipid vesicles provided a 2-fold increase of their efficacy.     

A new practical tool for deriving a functional signature for herbaceous vegetation

Hypothesis: For any one time and place a ‘functional signature’ can be derived for a sample of herbaceous vegetation in a way that concisely represents the balance between the different clusters of functional attributes that are present among component species. Methods: We developed a spreadsheet‐based tool for calculating functional signatures within the context of the C‐S‐R system of plant functional types. We used the tool to calculate and compare signatures for specimen British vegetation samples which differed in management regime and location in time. Conclusion: The integrative power of the ‘C‐S‐R signature’ is useful in comparative studies involving widely differing samples. Movements in the signature can be used to indicate degree of resistance, resilience, eutrophication and dereliction. Systems of plant functional types other than C‐S‐R might also be approached in this way. Availability: The tool can be downloaded free of charge from the first author's web pages or from the journal's electronic archive.     

Ultrastructural immunochemical study of pathogenic Burkholderia capsule

The capsular structures of Burkholderia pseudomallei, B. mallei, B. cepacia and their avirulent noncapsular mutants were studied with the use of electron ahd immunocytochemical techniques. For this purpose, antimelio-idosis monoclonal antibodies (McAb) G11 and 1 G2, epitope-aimed at capsular glycopyotein of 200 kD and outer-membrane proteins of 42 and 39 kD, were used. As revealed in this study, the typical causative agents of melioidosis and glanders formed the capsule and exhibited high virulence due to the antiphagocytic activity of 200 kD glycoprotein, whose epitopes were found to be incorporated into the capsule, in contrast to avirulent variants and B. cepacia, found to have no such structure. The recognition of the membrane determinants of McAb 1 G2 on the outer-membrane surface of the non-capsular variants of microbes known to be the causative agents of melioidosis and glanders was indicative of absence of the capsule in these microbial cells. These data concerning the role of 200 kD antigen in virulence, its structural and functional characteristics may be efffectively used in the study of the pathogenetic mechanisms of melioidosis and glanders, as well as in the construction of preparations for their immunodiagnostics and prophylaxis.     

Immune response in experimental animals immunized with Burkholderia pseudomallei surface antigens

The influence of the chromatographic fractions of B. pseudomallei surface antigenic complex (C, C1, D, H) on immune response in white rats and white mice was under study. These antigenic complexes were noted to produce perceptible stimulating effect on the immune system of white rats, in contrast to that of white mice. The immunization of the mice the above-mentioned fractions suppressed the phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages (PM) and slightly enhanced cell-mediated immunity. In experiments on white rats, fraction C induced the growth of specific antibody titers and stimulated the phagocytic activity of PM, as well as the indices of delayed hypersensitivity (DH). Fraction D showed a lower level of the induction of the phagocytic activity of PM and was inactive in the manifestation of cell-mediated immunity, but induced a high level of humoral immunity. Antigenic complexes C1 and H increased the phagocytic activity of PM and DH characteristics with a low level of antibody production. The studied fractions of the causative agent of melioidosis decreased the content of bactericidal cationic proteins (BCP) in rat blood neutrophils, and in mice a decreased content of BCP in phagocytes was registered. The fractions increased the activity of myeloperoxidase in blood neutrophils in mice and rats. As revealed with the use of immunoelectrophoresis, SDS PAAG electrophoresis and immunoblotting, the surface antigenic complex contained proteins of 18, 22, 39 kD and glycoproteins 42, 55, 90 kD. The latter glycoprotein was found in all the fractions under study, having protective properties.     

Solid-phase immunoenzyme analysis of Coccidioides immitis antigens

A highly effective and specific solid-phase enzyme immunoassay system has been developed. The enzyme immunoassay is a highly sensitive technique for the detection and identification of C. immitis cellular and metabolic antigens. This technique is suitable for the study of strain differences in the antigenic composition of C. immitis, rendered harmless by different methods. The expediency of the preliminary sonification of cell suspensions of C. immitis, the causative agent of coccidioidomycosis, has been experimentally confirmed.