An evaluation of the quality of tetanus anatoxins by gel electrophoresis]

The study of tetanus toxoids obtained from different manufacturers in the USSR has shown that these preparations exhibit molecular heterogeneity. The method of gel filtration has made it possible to find out that tetanus toxoids from different manufacturers differ in the degree of their purification. The preparations produced by the manufacturing enterprises in Perm and Ufa have been found to contain considerably less ballast substances than the preparations produced in Moscow.     

A gel filtration study of the fractional composition of tetanus antitoxic sera

The fraction composition of tetanus antitoxic sera has been studied by the method of gel filtration in columns packed with Sephadex G-200. Differences in the fraction composition of preparations manufactured by different enterprises have been revealed. The specific activity of antitoxic sera has been found to depend on the degree of their fragmentation.     

The effect of lipase from Penicillium sp. on the membrane fraction of the levorin-producing Streptomyces levoris

The effect of a lipase preparation from Penicillium sp. on the membranes of the levorin producer Streptomyces levoris was being studied. The enzyme preparation was found preferably to hydrolyse neutral lipids in the Str. levoris membranes, which makes it possible to use the lipase from Penicillium sp. for studying neutral lipids in microbial membranes.     

Dependence of the cytogenetic effect on TEPA concentration in human lymphocyte culture]

The authors studied the cytogenetic action of TEPA (tris/2-methyl-1-azyridinyl) on the human lymphocyte culture. It was shown that the increase of the mutagen concentration from 0.125 to 16.0 microgram/ml the cytogenetic effect for the portion of the aberrant metaphases rose from 6.0 to 61.0%, and for the total number of ruptures - from 7.96 to 116.3. A method of finding the least effective concentration of the substance under study in comparison with control is suggested; for TEPA it constitutes 0.120 microgram/ml. The percentage of chromatide ruptures remained constant in using different TEPA concentration and constitutes 51.72%. Cell distribution of chromosome ruptures is satisfactorily described by geometrical distribution.     

Effect of long-term exposure to thiophosphamide on the frequency of chromosome aberrations in Chinese hamster cell cultures

The paper contains the results of the study on the frequency of chromosome aberrations in the cell culture of Chinese hamster under a prolonged action of low concentrations of thiophosphamide (Thph). The frequency of chromosome aberrations in the initial period somewhat increases and then keeps to a certain constant level independently on the duration of action of thiophosphamide. With the heightening of the concentration of the chemical, a sharp increase in the number of chromosome aberrations is observed, which leads to a mass dying of the cell culture. These results may be interpreted as the action of the selection against mutant cells.     

Polymorphic variants of folate metabolizing genes (C677T and A1298C <Emphasis Type="Italic">MTHFR</Emphasis> and C1420T SHMT1 and G1958A <Emphasis Type="Italic">MTHFD</Emphasis>) are not associated with the risk of breast cancer in the West Siberian Region of Russia

Breast cancer is one of the most widely distributed cancers in women. We investigated the role of allele variants in the folate metabolizing genes MTHFR (C677T and A1298C alleles), SHMT1 (C1420T allele), and MTHFD (G1258A allele) as a possible factor in predisposition to breast cancer. We determined allele and genotype frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the case (850 women with sporadic form of breast cancer) and control (810 healthy women) groups. None of the polymorphisms were significantly associated with breast cancer risk. To increase the statistical power of our study, we conducted a meta-analysis which included published genotype data and the results of our work. The meta-analysis revealed no significant association between the studied SNPs and breast cancer risks either.     

Effects of hypoxic stimulation in experimental animals and in children with bronchial asthma]

Inhalations using hypoxic mixture of 12-15% O2 were tested in 40 rats (daily for 20 min. during 1-4 months) and in 200 children with light and mid-serious forms of bronchial asthma (for 5-10 min. 2-4 times with 5 min. break, course-10 days). Stimulation effect in animals was observed for 1-2 months and then depression came. The immunological and allergological indices were observed to distinctly improve, whereas the indices of the pulmonary function remained practically unchanged. The clinical indices in most patients improved and the similarity of this method and effects of other nonmedicamental methods was noted.