Interaction of signal cascades induced by cAMP and prolactin in bovine oocyte-cumulus complexes

Prolactin (PRL) is one of the pituitary hormones that participate in controlling mammalian folliculo-and oogenesis. In the present study, the combined action of PRL (50 ng/ml) and dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP, 1 mM) on oocyte maturation and the morphologic-functional state of the surrounding cumulus cells was investigated in vitro. It has been shown that PRL completely suppresses the inhibitory effect of dbcAMP on meiosis reinitiation and completion of the oocyte nuclear maturation. Moreover, PRL partly inhibited the dbcAMP-induced cumulus expansion, although it produced an opposite effect in the control medium. In the presence of PRL, the inhibitory effect of dbcAMP on the proliferative activity of cumulus cells, as well as on the PRL-induced suppression of destructive processes in these cells, was revealed. In cumulus cells, the mRNA expression of the long PRL receptor isoform was established by the RT-PCR method. The obtained data indicate an interaction of signal cascades induced by PRL and cAMP in the bovine oocyte-cumulus complexes, with the coupling site of these cascades in oocytes seeming to differ from that in cumulus cells.     

Muscles of the genital appendages of Megalopygidae (Lepidoptera) and their significance for the family systematics

Nine muscles were found in the genital complex of Megalopygidae: the paired m1, m2(10), m4, m5(7), m6(5), m7(6), the unpaired m20, m21, and the phallobase muscles. This arrangement corresponds to the ground plan of Zygaenoidea with some reductions. The archaic muscles of the “musculi phallici internus” system, located inside the phallotheca and aedeagus, were revealed for the first time in representatives of the entire superfamily Zygaenoidea. We suggest that the traditional interpretation of m21 as the inner longitudinal muscle of the aedeagus should be preserved, while the inner muscles of the phallotheca should be designated as musculi phallobasi interni m36. Division of the family into two subfamilies, Megalopyginae and the more archaic Trosiinae, is supported by our results, and the homology of the modified appendages of the tergal complex and vinculum is refined. A list of autapomorphies of the family is given.     

A synthetic fragment 60–70 of the receptor for advanced glycation end products exhibits a therapeutic effect in an animal model of Alzheimer’s disease

Six synthetic peptides overlapping a fragment 60–76 of the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) were studied on a protective effect on spatial memory of animals in the experimental model of Alzheimer’s disease. It was shown that only a peptide corresponding to the fragment 60–70 of RAGE exhibits a therapeutic activity. Intranasal administration of this peptide into bulbectomized mice, which develop neurodegenerative features of the Alzheimer type, completely protects animal memory. Thus, it was found that the N-terminal region (60–70) within the peptide sequence 60–76 of RAGE is responsible for the revealed protective effect. The synthetic peptide RAGE-(60–70) could be the basis for the development of a new drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.     

Modular lentiviral vector system for chimeric antigen receptor design optimization

The article reports the development of a collection of lentiviral vector constructs enabling time-efficient production and testing of different variants of chimeric antigen receptors (CAR). These artificial surface proteins make it possible to redirect the activity of immune cytotoxic T-cells towards cancer cells. Chimeric antigen receptors usually encompass four functional modules, namely, antigen recognition, flexible linker, transmembrane, and signal modules. The use of modules with different properties allows modulating the affinity and specificity of CAR interaction with target antigens, as well as intensity and quality of activation signaling, which determines the cytotoxic properties of CAR T-cells, as well as their proliferation rate and time of persistence in the organism. The proposed vector system make it possible to easily test various combinations of CAR modules while its being open to distribution allows the direct comparison of the results obtained by different scientific groups.     

VLDL triglycerides inhibit HDL-associated paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activity: in vitro and in vivo studies

We analyzed, for the first time, both in vitro and in vivo, the effect of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), or of pure triglycerides, on high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-associated paraoxonase1 (PON1) catalytic activities. Incubation of serum or HDL from healthy subjects with VLDL (0-330 μg protein/mL) significantly decreased serum PON1 lactonase or arylesterase activities by up to 11% or 24%, and HDL-associated PON1 lactonase or arylesterase activities by up to 32% or 46%, respectively, in a VLDL dose-dependent manner. VLDL (0-660μg protein/mL) also inhibited recombinant PON1 (rePON1) lactonase or arylesterase activities by up to 20% or 42%, respectively. Similar inhibitory effect was noted upon rePON1 incubation with pure triglyceride emulsion. Bezafibrate therapy to three hypertriglyceridemic patients (400 mg/day, for one month) significantly decreased serum triglyceride concentration by 67%, and increased serum HDL cholesterol levels by 48%. PON1 arylesterase or paraoxonase activities in the patients' HDL fractions after drug therapy were significantly increased by 86-88%, as compared to PON1 activities before treatment. Similarly, HDL-PON1 protein levels significantly increased after bezafibrate therapy. Finally, bezafibrate therapy improved HDL biological activity, as HDL obtained after drug therapy showed increased ability to induce cholesterol efflux from J774A.1 macrophages, by 19%, as compared to HDL derived before therapy. We thus conclude that VLDL triglycerides inhibit PON1 catalytic activities, and bezafibrate therapy significantly improved HDL-PON1 catalytic and biological activities. ? 2012 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.     

Antibacterial acitivity of the peptide complex isolated from the preparation of leukocytic interferon

A complex of low-molecular cationic peptides having an anti-bacterial effect with respect to Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was isolated from the preparation of leukocytic interferon. The antibacterial action of the peptide complex was experimentally studied in vitro. The study revealed that the degree of the antibacterial activity of the peptide complex depended on the concentration of the bacterial culture under study, the ionic power of the incubation medium and did not depend on the presence of the products of bacterial vital activity in the growth medium. The antibacterial action of the peptide complex on the test cultures of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as on the cultures of bacteria isolated from patients with infectious inflammatory diseases of the organs of the urinary system, was established. These results opened prospects for the development of fundamentally new antibacterial preparation on the basis of the peptide complex obtained in our studies.     

Development of dendritic spines in the piriform neurons of the cerebellar cortex in human prenatal ontogeny

The submicroscopic investigation on developmental peculiarities of the dendritic spines in the piriform neurons of the cerebellar cortex has been performed during the human prenatal ontogenesis. The process of morphogenesis of the spines of the tertiary dendrites in the piriform neurons is demonstrated to start rather early--on the 24th week of embryogenesis and goes through three successive stages: 1) formation of a long cytoplasmic processes deprived of any membranous specialization; 2) formation of the terminal spinal head, making synapses with parallel fibers of the cerebellar cortex; 3) definitive stage. A suggestion is made that differentiation processes of the spines depend on inductive influence of the parallel fibers of the cerebellar cortex.     

Proteins of mouse spermatogenic cells. II. Age differences at individual stages of differentiation

The spermatogenic cells of the adult and young mice differ by the content of certain electrophoretic fractions of proteins and the activity of a number of enzymes (glucose-6-phosphate, sorbitol and pyruvate dehydrogenases). The expression of age differences changes in the process of differentiation. It is suggested that the differences found are of dual nature: they are due to both the "immaturity" of young animals and the age processes per se in adults; the role of the latter decreases as the differentiation proceeds.