Distribution of Il6st mRNA and gp130 glycoprotein in various brain structures of mice that differ in intensity of exaggerated freezing reaction (catalepsy)

The glycoprotein gp130 mediates intracellular transduction of signal from receptors of cytokines belonging to the interleukin-6 group. The linkage of the Il6st gene encoding the gp130 protein to heritable predisposition to hypertrophic freezing reaction (catalepsy) has been demonstrated previously in mice. The aim of the present work was to investigate the levels of Il6st mRNA, as well as the distribution of the gp130 protein and the degree of its glycosylation, in five brain regions of mice of the non-cataleptic AKR/J line and the cataleptic lines CBA/LacJ and congenic line AKR.CBA-D13Mit76, which carries the CBA variant of the Il6st gene in the AKR/J genome. These parameters were also studied in mice of the ASC line obtained by backcrossing CBA and AKR mice with the simultaneous selection for the high predisposition to catalepsy. Maximum levels of unglycosylated and glycosylated forms of the gp130 protein were detected in the midbrains of mice from all investigated lines. The highest levels of Il6st mRNA were found in the midbrain, striatum, and hypothalamus of mice of all lines. The level of Il6st mRNA in the striatum of AKR.CBA-D13Mit76 mice was higher than in the striatum of AKR/J mice. Therefore, one can assume that there is a connection between heritable catalepsy and the increased expression of the Il6st gene in the striatum.     

The dynamics of the composition of mtDNA haplotypes of the ancient population of the Altai Mountains from the early bronze age (3rd millennium BC) to the iron age (2nd–1st centuries BC)

The mtDNA polymorphism in representatives of various archaeological cultures of the Developed Bronze Age, Early Scythian, and Hunnish-Sarmatian periods was analyzed (N = 34). It detected the dominance of Western-Eurasian haplotypes (70.6%) in mtDNA samples from the representatives of the ancient population of the Early Bronze Age–Iron Age on the territory of Altai Mountains. Since the 8th to the 7th centuries BC, a sharp increase was revealed in the Eastern Eurasian haplogroups A, D, C, and Z (43.75%) as compared to previous cultures (16.7%). The presence of haplotype 223-242-290-319 of haplogroup A8 in Dolgans, Itelmens, Evens, Koryaks, and Yakuts indicates the possible long-term presence of its carriers in areas inhabited by these populations. The prevalence of western Eurasian haplotypes is observed not only in the Altai Mountains but also in Central Asia (Kazakhstan) and the south of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. All of the three studied samples from the Western Eurasian haplogroups were revealed to contain U, H, T, and HV. The ubiquitous presence of haplotypes of haplogroup H and some haplogroups of cluster U (U5a1, U4, U2e, and K) in the vast territory from the Yenisei River basin to the Atlantic Ocean may indicate the direction of human settlement, which most likely occurred in the Paleolithic Period from Central Asia.     

Phage Particles in Ground Arctic Ice

Microbiology - This is the first report on investigation of bacteriophages in ancient Arctic ground ice of various genesis and geological age. Electron microscopy revealed phage particles in all...     

Characterization of Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum Bacteriophage PP16 Prospective for Biocontrol of Potato Soft Rot

Microbiology - Phages of the phytopathogenic Pectobacteriaceae species causing black leg and soft rot of potato were investigated. These phages are promising as biocontrol agents to prevent the...     

The escape reactions in cats during electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus leading to the occurrence of aggressive behavior]

The influence of brain electrical stimulation, which induced some elements of agonistic behavior, on the preference of an animal of one of two compartments of the experimental chamber was studied in 7 male cats with implanted hypothalamic electrodes. The animals avoided the compartment in which they were stimulated. Self-stimulation reaction could not be formed on the basis of the electrical brain stimulation inducing certain elements of agonistic behavior. Passage latencies were shorter when an animal left the less preferential compartment that in the case when in started from the more preferential one. The obtained evidence suggests that hypothalamic stimulation producing certain elements of agonistic behavior evokes in an animal a negative internal state.     

Genetic bases for heterogeneity of a population of omnivorous Archips podana Scop. leaf roller moths (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) by morphological and behavioral traits

Inheritance of morphological characters related to male and female genitalia was examined in Archips podana Scop. The position and number of aedeagus prongs had a monogenic diallelic mode of inheritance. In contrast to homozygous for P1 (prong A) and heterozygous (prong A + B) males, males homozygous for P2 (prong B) were characterized by much more active courtship. The gene correlates with a set of characters controlling individual ecology, exploring behavior of females, and feeding on different cultures. Morphological adult type 0 is an extremely weak form of phenotype B. Exploring activity of adults having phenotype B is the highest at the ratio of cis-tetradecenol to the other components of the female sex pheromone that leads to a somewhat lower activity of males of other phenotypes. In females, no regularities in inheritance of phenotypic characters were revealed. A hypothesis on a mechanism for maintenance of population stability for the given phenotypes is advanced and a possible mechanism for microevolution of a polymorphic species is proposed.     

Inhibition of Human Platelet Aggregation by Amides and Ester of Salicylic Acid with Platelet-Activating Factor Analogs

The influence of acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) derivatives with platelet-activating factor (PAF) lipid analogs on PAF-induced human platelet aggregation has been studied. It was found that the ASA amide with an ethanolamine plasmalogen PAF analog (1-0-alk-1"-enyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(N-2"-acetoxybenzoyl)ethanolamine) and the ASA ester with a choline plasmalogen PAF analog (1-0-alk-1"-enyl-2-(2"-acetoxybenzoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) at concentrations of 10^–7-10^–6 M effectively inhibit PAF-induced aggregation of human platelets. In contrast to these compounds, the ASA amide with an alkyl PAF analog (1-0-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(N-2"-acetoxybenzoyl)ethanolamine) did not inhibit PAF-induced platelet aggregation. As possible mechanisms of action of the studied compounds, the blockade of PAF-receptor and cyclooxygenase inhibition are proposed.