Effect of the long-term exposure of the isolated myometrium from nonpregnant rats to serum from pregnant women on its contractile activity and the beta-adrenergic reactivity

Pregnant women's blood serum (the whole as well as 50- and 100-diluted) did not alter parameters of spontaneous motility, i.e. it did not affect the uterus myocytes' spontaneous motility, whereas the whole or 50-diluted serum raised considerable the rat myometrium's beta-adrenoreaction. The data obtained suggest that the beta-adrenoreaction of the rat uterus' myocytes increases after a prolonged contact with pregnant women's blood serum which may be due to the beta-adrenoreceptor synthesis activation and to an increase in their concentration because of diffusion from the blood serum. This suggests existence of humoral mechanisms of the myometrium beta-adrenoreaction regulation, the mechanisms creating the optimum uterus' contractile activity.     

Identification of a novel subunit of respiratory complex I from Thermus thermophilus

The hydrophilic domain (peripheral arm) of the proton-translocating NADH:quinone oxidoreductase (complex I) from the thermophilic organism Thermus thermophilus HB8 has been purified and characterized. The subcomplex is stable in sodium dodecyl sulfate up to 80 degrees C. Of nine iron-sulfur clusters, four to five (one or two binuclear and three tetranuclear) could be detected by EPR in the NADH-reduced enzyme. The preparation consists of eight different polypeptides. Seven of them have been positively identified by peptide mass mapping and N-terminal sequencing as known hydrophilic subunits of T. thermophilus complex I. The eighth polypeptide copurified with the subcomplex at all stages, is strongly associated with the other subunits, and is present in crystals of the subcomplex, used for X-ray data collection. Therefore, it has been identified as a novel complex I subunit and named Nqo15. It is encoded in a locus separate from the nqo operon, containing the 14 other known complex I genes. ORFs encoding Nqo15 homologues are present in the genomes of the closest relatives of T. thermophilus. Our data show that, contrary to previous assumptions, bacterial complex I can contain proteins in addition to a "core" complement of 14 subunits.     

Effect of superlow doses (10(-18)-10-(-14) M) of biologically active substances: general rules, features, and possible mechanisms]

The effects of ultra-low (10(-18)-10(-14) M) doses (ULD) of biologically active substances have been reviewed in terms of common regularities of ULD effects and peculiarities of action of various groups of compounds. The most common and at the same time paradoxical regularities of ULD action are bi- or polymodal patterns of dose dependence, absence or presence of an inverse effect at higher doses, and instability of ULD effect. Possible mechanisms of ULD action including the mechanism based on the adaptation theory are discussed.     

The detection of a cluster of beta-globin genes in the long arm of chromosome 2 in the domestic hen by using DNA-DNA in situ hybridization]

Using isotopic and nonisotopic methods of in situ hybridization, the localization the beta-like globin gene cluster was established. Molecular hybridization of DNA probes containing embryonic epsilon-globin and adult beta-globin genes revealed the localization of the cluster of the long arm on chromosome 2 (2q).