Effect of micronized fenofibrate (Lipanthyl-200M) on cholesterol synthesis in peripheral blood lymphocytes in hyperlipidemic patients with coronary heart disease

The rate of cholesterol synthesis in peripheral blood lymphocytes and plasma lipid and lipoprotein spectra are studied in patients with isolated hypercholesterolemia and combined hyperlipidemias (IIa and IIb hyperlipidemias according to Frederickson classification).¹⁴C-acetate incorporation into cholesterol in peripheral blood lymphocytes is considerably higher in patients with type IIb hyperlipidemia. Lipanthyl-200M reduces the rate of cholesterol synthesis in lymphocytes of both groups. A direct correlation is established between serum triglyceride level and the rate of cholesterol synthesis. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 125, No. 5, pp. 569–573, May, 1998     

Fibre optic confocal imaging (FOCI) of keratinocytes, blood vessels and nerves in hairless mouse skin in vivo

Fibre optic confocal imaging (FOCI) enabled subsurface fluorescence microscopy of the skin of hairless mice in vivo. Application of acridine orange enabled imaging of the layers of the epidermis. The corneocytes of the stratum corneum, the keratinocytes in the basal layers and redundant hair follicles were visualised at depths greater than 100 μm. Cellular and nuclear membranes of keratinocytes of the skin were visualised by the use of acridine orange and DIOC5(3). Imaging of the skin after injection of FITC-dextran revealed an extensive network of blood vessels with a size range up to 20 μm. Blood cells could be seen moving through dermal vessels and the blood circulation through the dermal vascular bed was video-taped. The fluorescent dye 4-di-2-ASP showed the presence of nerves fibres around the hair follicles and subsurface blood vessels. Comparison was made between images obtained in vivo using FOCI and in vitro scanning electron microscopy and conventional histology. FOCI offers the potential to study dynamic events in vivo, such as blood flow, skin growth, nerve regeneration and many pathological processes, in ways which have not previously been possible.     

NAG infection in tadpoles of Rana temporaria

In a series of experiments 2250 tadpoles were infected with three strains of NAG vibrios. It can be concluded from the results of bacteriological and pathomorphological electron-microscopic and light-optical investigations that during the first 2 days the animals develop and recover from an acute infection, but the vibrios later persist for a long time in the body of the tadpoles and are excreted with the feces into the surrounding medium.Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 82, No. 7, pp. 841–843, July, 1976.     

The worldwide distribution of the VHL 598C>T mutation indicates a single founding event

The first congenital defect of hypoxia-sensing homozygosity for VHL 598C>T mutation was recently identified in Chuvash polycythemia. Subsequently, we found this mutation in 11 unrelated individuals of diverse ethnic backgrounds. To address the question of whether the VHL 598C>T substitution occurred in a single founder or resulted from recurrent mutational events in human evolution, we performed haplotype analysis of 8 polymorphic markers covering 340 kb spanning the VHL gene on 101 subjects bearing the VHL 598C>T mutation, including 72 homozygotes (61 Chuvash and 11 non-Chuvash) and 29 heterozygotes (11 Chuvash and 18 non-Chuvash), and 447 healthy unrelated individuals from Chuvash and other ethnic groups. The differences in allele frequencies for each of the 8 markers between 447 healthy controls (598C) and 101 subjects bearing the 598T allele (P < 10(-7)) showed strong linkage disequilibrium. Haplotype analysis indicated a founder effect. We conclude that the VHL 598C>T mutation, the most common defect of congenital polycythemia yet found, was spread from a single founder 1,000 to 62,000 years ago.     

The endothelium-protective effect of 3-methyl-1,2,4-triazolyl-5-thioacetate (S)-2,6-diaminohexanic acid (lysinium): Effects on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the characteristics of the endotheliocytes of the cerebral vessels of animals with cerebral ischemia

We modeled acute disruption of the brain blood circulation (ADBC) by bilateral ligature of the common carotids in white outbred rats. This resulted in the formation of endothelial dysfunction of capillary network in the IV–V layers of the cortex and the vessels of the pia mater, choroids plexuses, and the branches of the middle cerebral and ophthalmic arteries, which was seen as a considerable decrease in the density of nuclei of endotheliocytes, a decrease in the RNA concentration in them, expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and a substantial decrease in the index of the proliferative activity of endotheliocytes. Intraperitoneal treatment of rats with ADBC with lysinium for 21 days at a dose of 50 mg/kg led on the 4th day to an increase in the density of endotheliocytes in the capillary network of the brain cortex and the walls of cerebral vessels and an increase in the RNA content in endothelial nuclei. At the end of the lysinium treatment, we observed an increase in the density of endotheliocytes in the capillary network of the brain cortex and the walls of cerebral vessels, an increase in the RNA content in nuclei of endotheliocytes, and an increase in the density of proliferating endotheliocytes in these vessels, which was associated with increased VEGF concentration. Administration of the control drug piracetam had no endothelium-protective effect.     

Mutagenic activity of cyclohexene and products of its chlorination

Cyclohexene exhibits no mutagenic effect in the Ames test. Products of its transformation (chlorination) produced a mutagenic effect in the Ames test on TA 100 strain without metabolic activation and in the micronucleus test on epithelial cells from mouse urinary bladder and colon. These findings are consistent with epidemiological data on higher incidence of urinary bladder and rectal cancers in subjects consuming chlorinated drinking water from surface water reservoirs. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 129, No. 6, pp. 683–685, June, 2000     

Early and Long-Term Neuroendocrine Effects of Prenatal Stress in Male and Female Rats

The effects of maternal stress, termed prenatal stress (PNS) on the neuroendocrine regulation of reproduction and the stress reactivity of offspring were studied in rats. PNS prevented the formation of sexual dimorphism in catecholamine levels, aromatase activity, and androgen 5-reductase activity in the preoptic area of the brain and the mediobasal hypothalamus in 10-day-old rats. The morphological correlate of the functional lesions induced by PNS consisted of the elimination of gender-related differences in the volumes of neuron nuclei in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Prenatal stress altered the stressand adrenergic reactivities of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-adrenal system in mature males and females. The long-term effects of PNS were regarded as a consequence of the disruption of the hormone-neurotransmitter imprinting of the neuroendocrine system.(Director: Corresponding Member of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences and the Ukrainian Academy of Medical Sciences A. G. Reznikov)