The immunization of white rats with a covalent conjugate of sidnofen and serum albumin suppresses chronic ethanol consumption

The influence of white rats of alcohol abuse formation of immunization by covalent conjugates of serum albumin with psychostimulant sydnophen was investigated. Immunization by conjugates where the molar sydnophen: protein ratio was 18:1-33: 1 results in significant depression of 15% ethanol consumption (in the condition of free choice between water and ethanol solution).     

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). Influence of homo- and heterologous ADH administration on albino rats craving for alcohol and on ADH isozyme activity in the liver.

The effects of homo- and heterologous alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) administration into albino rats were investigated. It was found that homologous ADH increases and heterologous ADH decreases the craving for ethanol. The latter effect was accompanied by the appearance of anti-ADH-3 antibodies and by a decrease in ADH-3 activity in the liver. Craving for alcohol decreased after both active and passive immunization against ADH.     

Electrical activity of the limbic structures of the dog brain during simultaneous stimulation of the cingulate gyrus and hypothalamus]

Simultaneous electrical stimulation of the anterior part of the cingulate gyrus and the anterior-lateral part of the hypothalamus in the dog brought about EEG synchronization in the limbic system structures and increased correlation coefficients between them. The animal's behaviour exhibited positive emotionally reactions (licking, sniffing, wagging the tail), attended with slowing of the heart rate. The indicated changes directly depend on the degree of emotional stress (the changes are more pronounced in hungry than in sated animals). Simultaneous stimulation of the anterior part of the cingulate gyrus and the anterior-lateral part of the hypothalamus apparently activates a system which reduces the level of emotional stress.     

Composition of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Common Wheat Varieties and Promising Lines

The composition of high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMWGS) is studied by means of the SDS-PAGE electrophoresis method in varieties of winter (obtained with the involvement of the Agropyron glaucum (Desf.)) and spring common wheat created in the West Siberian region. Data on HMWGS in the promising lines obtained with the involvement of the Triticum timopheevii Zhuk. and T. dicoccum var. farrum (having a complex resistance to pathogens) are presented. The prospects of the creation of spring common wheat varieties with the involvement of the presented lines and the use of some of them as a model for the study of heterosis mechanisms are discussed.     

Comparison of tetrachromic VOF stain to other histochemical staining techniques for characterizing stromal soft and hard tissue components

The components of hard tissues including dentin, enamel, cementum, bone and other calcified deposits, and mature and immature collagen pose problems for identification in routine hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) stained sections. Use of combinations of stains can demonstrate the components of hard tissues and soft tissues distinctly. We assessed the efficacy of the Verde Luz-orange G-acid fuchsin (VOF) stain for differentiating hard and soft connective tissues and compared results with other histochemical staining techniques. Eighty tissue sections comprising developing tooth (30), ossifying fibroma (30) and miscellaneous pathologies (20) expected to contain varying types of calcified tissues were stained with H & E, VOF, and Masson's trichrome (MT). In developing tooth, VOF demonstrated better differentiation of hard tissues, while it was comparable to MT for ossifying fibroma and miscellaneous pathologies. The intensity of staining was greater with VOF than with the other stains studied. VOF stains hard tissue components distinctly and gives good contrast with the surrounding connective tissue. VOF is comparable to MT, but has added advantages including single step staining, rapid and easy procedures, and it distinguishes the maturity of the tissues.     

The effect of relaxed functional constraints on the photosynthetic gene rbcL in photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic parasitic plants

The photosynthetic gene rbcL has been lost or dramatically altered in some lineages of nonphotosynthetic parasitic plants, but the dynamics of these events following loss of photosynthesis and whether rbcL has sustained functionally significant changes in photosynthetic parasitic plants are unknown. To assess the changes to rbcL associated with the loss of functional constraints for photosynthesis, nucleotide sequences from nonparasitic and parasitic plants of Scrophulariales were used for phylogeny reconstruction and character analysis. Plants in this group display a broad range of parasitic abilities, from photosynthetic ("hemiparasites") to nonphotosynthetic ("holoparasites"). With the exception of Conopholis (Orobanchaceae), the rbcL locus is present in all parasitic plants of Scrophulariales examined. Several holoparasitic genera included in this study, including Boschniakia, Epifagus, Orobanche, and Hyobanche, have rbcL pseudogenes. However, the holoparasites Alectra orobanchoides, Harveya capensis, Harveya purpurea, Lathraea clandestina, Orobanche corymbosa, O. fasciculata, and Striga gesnerioides have intact open reading frames (ORFs) for the rbcL gene. Phylogenetic hypotheses based on rbcL are largely in agreement with those based on sequences of the nonphotosynthetic genes rps2 and matK and show a single origin of parasitism, and loss of photosynthesis and pseudogene formation have been independently derived several times in Scrophulariales. The mutations in rbcL in nonparasitic and hemiparasitic plants would result in largely conservative amino acid substitutions, supporting the hypothesis that functional proteins can experience only a limited range of changes, even in minimally photosynthetic plants. In contrast, ORFs in some holoparasites had many previously unobserved missense substitutions at functionally important amino acid residues, suggesting that rbcL genes in these plants have evolved under relaxed or altered functional constraints.      

Analysis of storage proteins (prolamines, puroindolines and Waxy) in common wheat lines Triticum aestivum L. × (Triticum timopheevii Zhuk. × Triticum tauschii) with complex resistance to fungal infections

Storage proteins (prolamines, puroindolines, and Waxy) were studied in common wheat introgression lines obtained with the use of the Saratovskaya 29 (S29) cultivar line and synthetic hexaploid wheat (Triticum timopheevii Zhuk. × T. tauschii) (Sintetik, Sin.) displaying complex resistance to fungal infections. Comparative analysis of storage proteins in the introgression lines of common wheat Triticum aestivum L. and in the parental forms revealed the only line (BC5) having a substitution at the Gli-B2 locus from Sintetik. Hybrid lines subjected to nine backcrosses with the recurrent parental form S29 and selections for resistance to pathogens can be considered as nearly isogenic for the selected trait and retaining the allelic composition of (1) prolamines responsible for the bread-making qualitiy, (2) puroindolines associated with grain texture, and (3) Waxy proteins responsible for nutritive qualities. These lines are valuable as donors of immunity in breeding programs without the loss of the quality of flour and grain as compared to the S29 line and are also important in searching for genes determining resistance to leaf and stem rust and to powdery mildew. The amphiploid has a number of characters (silent Glu-A1 locus and Ha genotype) that can negatively affect the quality of flour and grain and thus should be taken into account when choosing this donor.     

Interactions of neural glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans with protein ligands: assessment of selectivity, heterogeneity and the participation of core proteins in binding

The method of affinity coelectrophoresis was used to study the binding of nine representative glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-binding proteins, all thought to play roles in nervous system development, to GAGs and proteoglycans isolated from developing rat brain. Binding to heparin and non-neural heparan and chondroitin sulfates was also measured. All nine proteins-laminin-1, fibronectin, thrombospondin-1, NCAM, L1, protease nexin-1, urokinase plasminogen activator, thrombin, and fibroblast growth factor-2-bound brain heparan sulfate less strongly than heparin, but the degree of difference in affinity varied considerably. Protease nexin-1 bound brain heparan sulfate only 1.8- fold less tightly than heparin (Kdvalues of 35 vs. 20 nM, respectively), whereas NCAM and L1 bound heparin well (Kd approximately 140 nM) but failed to bind detectably to brain heparan sulfate (Kd>3 microM). Four proteins bound brain chondroitin sulfate, with affinities equal to or a few fold stronger than the same proteins displayed toward cartilage chondroitin sulfate. Overall, the highest affinities were observed with intact heparan sulfate proteoglycans: laminin-1's affinities for the proteoglycans cerebroglycan (glypican-2), glypican-1 and syndecan-3 were 300- to 1800-fold stronger than its affinity for brain heparan sulfate. In contrast, the affinities of fibroblast growth factor-2 for cerebroglycan and for brain heparan sulfate were similar. Interestingly, partial proteolysis of cerebroglycan resulted in a >400- fold loss of laminin affinity. These data support the views that (1) GAG-binding proteins can be differentially sensitive to variations in GAG structure, and (2) core proteins can have dramatic, ligand-specific influences on protein-proteoglycan interactions.