Lactoferrin Has a Protective Effect on Mouse Brain Cells after Acute Gamma Irradiation of the Head.

We studied the effect of human lactoferrin on cells of the hippocampal dentate gyrus of 2-2.5-month-old male C57BL/6 mice after acute gamma irradiation of the head in a dose of 8 Gy from a 60Co source. Immediately after irradiation some animals received an intraperitoneal injection of human lactoferrin (4 mg/mouse). The appearance of TUNEL+ cells in the subgranular zone 6 h after irradiation was accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the number of Ki-67- and DCX-immunoreactive cells. Administration of lactoferrin had a protective effect on mouse brain cells, which manifested in a decrease in the number of TUNEL+ cells (by 77% relative to the irradiation alone) and an increase in the number of proliferating cells (from 16 to 61% relative to control animals) and immature neurons (from 14 to 22% relative to control animals) in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus.

The power of innate: Behavioural attachment and neural activity in responses to natural and artificial objects in filial imprinting in chicks.

Newly hatched domestic chicks are known to orient preferentially toward naturalistic stimuli, resembling a conspecific. Here, we examined to what extent this behavioral preference can be transcended by an artificial imprinting stimulus in both short-term and long-term tests. We also compared the expression maps of the plasticity-associated c-fos gene in the brains of chicks imprinted to naturalistic (rotating stuffed jungle fowl) and artificial (rotating illuminated red box) stimuli. During training, the approach activity of chicks to a naturalistic object was always higher than that to an artificial object. However, the induction of c-fos mRNA was significantly higher in chicks imprinted to a box than to a fowl, especially in the intermediate medial mesopallium, hyperpallium apicale, arcopallium, and hippocampus. Initially, in the short-term test (10 min after the end of training), chicks had a higher preference for a red box than for a stuffed fowl. However, in the long-term test (24 h after imprinting), the response to an artificial object decreased to the level of preference for a naturalistic object. Our results thus show that despite the artificial object causing a stronger c-fos novelty response and higher behavioral attachment in the short term, this preference was less stable and fades away, being overtaken by a more stable innate predisposition to the naturalistic social object.

Effects of Screen Time and Season on Cardiovascular System Indicators in Primary Schoolchildren.

Indicators of the cardiovascular system, including heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) variability parameters, were analyzed in primary school students with different computer screen times. The study included 4084 students of grades 1-4 (age 7-12 years) from 66 Moscow schools. The screen time at school and out of school was assessed by teachers, based on the national Sanitary Rules and Regulations: 0, no screen time; 1, screen time matching hygienic standards; 2, screen time at least twice greater than recommended. Physiological examinations were carried out by spiroarteriocardiorhythmography with a face mask, the conditions corresponding to the functional stress test (mild hypercapnia/hypoxia). Testing took place in spring and autumn (independent samples). Statistical data processing was performed using nonparametric criteria. It was revealed that the introduction of computer technologies in school lessons within the limits of hygienic standards was accompanied by an increase, within the normal range, of systolic BP in girls at the end of grade 2 and 4 and in boys at the beginning and end of grade 4. Screen time at least twice higher than the hygienic standard did not have an additional effect on BP, but provoked shifts in the function of autonomic regulation. Boys were more sensitive to the influence of this environmental factor. Their pattern of seasonal variability in total power (TP) of the HR variability spectrum was reversed compared to that of children who did not use computers at school; i.e., higher TP values were observed in spring. In grade 4, the process was accompanied by an increase in spontaneous arterial baroreflex sensitivity and a decrease in the relative power of the LF range in the variability spectrum of systolic BP. The changes were assumed to reflect the adaptive response to changes in educational environment.

Transport of Human Lactoferrin into Mouse Brain: Administration Routes and Distribution.

We studied different ways of transport of human lactoferrin to the brain of C57Bl/6 mice after its administration via different routes, analyzed its distribution in the brain, and determined the phenotype of lactoferrin-containing cells. Colocalization of lactoferrin and markers of various cell types was estimated by fluorescent immunohistochemical analysis. Lactoferrin was detected in mouse brain sections after its intranasal, sublingual, and intraperitoneal administration, but not after conjunctival administration. After intranasal administration, lactoferrin rapidly penetrated into the brain and accumulated in the cytoplasm of vascular endothelial cells in the neocortex, striatum, hippocampus, and thalamus. After application of protein solution onto fixed floating sections, highly specific binding of lactoferrin was found in the nuclei of neurons, astrocytes, and microglia cells, but not in the nuclei of endothelial cells of mouse brain.

[Shifts in subcellular content of blood serum and urine at asthma: animal model, clinic and monitoring data].

We reproduced mouse model of bronchial asthma, evaluated metabolic shifts of serum homeostasis during disease development, and compared these results with the data on metabolic shifts in bronchial asthma patients. In experimental mice pronounced pathological changes in the lungs, considerable lymphocytosis and decrease in neutrophil count were detected. Metabolic shifts were studied using method of laser correlation spectroscopy (LCS) of blood serum and urine. Method of LCS allows determining the dispersion composition of the studied fluid by the relative contribution of particle components into light scattering. The relative content of particles of different size.characterizes the direction of metabolic shifts in the organism. Similar patterns of particle distribution in biological fluids of experimental animals and patients suggest that LCS can be used as an additional method for evaluation of the severity of the disease and efficiency of therapy.

Dynamics of changes in physiological parameters of mice with different radiosensitivity after acute γ-irradiation.

We studied radiosensitivity of 101/Hf, C3H/Sn, and C57Bl mice exposed to sublethal doses of γ-radiation. C57Bl mice responded to radiation much later than 101/Hf and C3H/Sn mice, while their adaptability was high enough. 101/Hf and C3H/Sn mice developed acute radiation sickness in a similar way. However, C3H/Sn mice showed better physiological indicators after radiation crisis. There was no noticeable improvement after the development of radiation sickness in 101/Hf mice. To assess individual radiosensitivity, integrated approach should be applied using the data obtained by different methods on several physiological levels.

Systemic effects of TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) during acute γ-irradiation.

The effects of TRAIL at various physiological levels were studied on 101/Hf and C3H/Sn mice during acute γ-irradiation with 750 R. An intravenous injection of TRAIL attenuated the effects of γ-irradiation on the body weight, subfractions of blood plasma, horizontal and vertical activity in the open-field test, tissue injury in the small intestine and liver, and content of Hassall's corpuscles in the thymus. The degree of these changes differed in mice of study strains.

Contribution of the complement system to realization of biological fluid cytotoxicity in health and disease.

The cytotoxic effects of human blood serum were studied under normal and pathological conditions. The contribution of the complement system to the realization of this effect was demonstrated. Significant differences in the serum capacity to kill foreign cells were detected for healthy subjects and asthmatics. Bovine sperm suspension can serve as the test object for rapid evaluation of functional activity of the complement system.

[Locomotor activity and expression of c-Fos protein in the brain of C57BL and Balb/c mice: effects of D-amphetamine and sydnocarb]. / Lokomotornaia aktivnost' i ékspressiia belka c-Fos v mozge myshei C57BL i BALB/c: éffekty D-amfetamina i sidnokarba.

Effects of the psychostimulants D-amphetamine and sydnocarb on the locomotor activity and c-Fos protein expression in the brain of C57BL and BALB/c mice was studied. The drugs significantly increase the locomotor activity and the level of c-Fos protein in the brain structures of both lines. The effect of D-amphetamine with respect to the locomotor activity was more pronounced in C57BL mice, which correlates with a higher level of the c-Fos expression in the secondary motor cortex. At the same time syndocarb more significantly than D-amphetamine induces expression of the c-Fos protein in the nucleus accumbens core of C57BL mice. Injection of an 0.85% NaCl solution led to a moderate increase in the locomotor activity in the mice of both lines, while the c-Fos expression in the secondary motor cortex and septum was more pronounced in C57BL than in BALB/c mice.