Human Adrenocortical Carcinoma (NCI-H295R) Cell Line as an In Vitro Cell Culture Model for Assessing the Impact of Iron on Steroidogenesis.

The aim of this in vitro study was to examine the dose-dependent effects of iron as a potential endocrine disruptor in relation to the release of sexual steroid hormones by a human adrenocortical carcinoma (NCI-H295R) cell line. The cells were exposed to different concentrations (3.90, 62.50, 250, 500, 1000 µM) of FeSO4.7H2O and compared with the control group (culture medium without FeSO4.7H2O). Cell viability was measured by the metabolic activity assay. Quantification of sexual steroid production was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Following 48 h culture of the cells in the presence of FeSO4.7H2O, significantly (P < 0.001) increased production of progesterone was observed at the lowest concentration (3.90 µM) of FeSO4.7H2O, whereas the lowest release of progesterone by NCIH295R cells was noted after addition of 1000 µM of FeSO4.7H2O, which did not elicit cytotoxic action (P > 0.05). Testosterone production was substantially increased at the concentrations ≤ 62.50 µM of FeSO4.7H2O. Lower levels of testosterone were recorded in the groups with higher concentrations (≥ 250 µM) of FeSO4.7H2O (P > 0.05). The presented data suggest that iron has no endocrine disruptive effect on the release of sexual steroid hormones, but its toxicity may be reflected at other points of the steroidogenesis pathway.

[Lung ultrasound in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection]. / Lungenultraschall bei Patienten mit SARS-CoV-2-Infektion.

After taking a patient's history and physical examination, lung ultrasound can immediately reveal numerous causes and complications in patients suffering from respiratory tract infection and/or dyspnea. It can thus facilitate decisions on further diagnostic and first therapeutic procedures, even in patients with a SARS-CoV­2 infection who present to the emergency room. This review article highlights the typical findings of lung ultrasound in patients with COVID-19 and discusses its value compared to other imaging methods.

Assessment of the effective impact of bisphenols on mitochondrial activity and steroidogenesis in a dose-dependency in mice TM3 Leydig cells.

The increasing worldwide production of bisphenols has been associated to several human diseases, such as chronic respiratory and kidney diseases, diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer, behavioral troubles and reproductive disorders in both sexes. The aim of the present in vitro study was to evaluate the potential impact bisphenols A, B, S and F on the cell viability and testosterone release in TM3 Leydig cell line. Mice Leydig cells were cultured in the presence of different concentrations of bisphenols (0.04-50 µg.ml-1) during 24 h exposure. Quantification of the cell viability was assessed using the metabolic activity assay, while the level of testosterone in cell culture media was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Within the panel of substances under investigations, the higher experimental concentrations (10; 25 and 50 µg.ml-1) significantly (P<0.001) decreased Leydig cells viability, while the same doses of BPA and BPB also reduced testosterone production significantly (P<0.001). Taken together, the results of our study reported herein is a consistent whit the conclusion that higher experimental doses of bisphenols have a cytotoxic effect and could have a dose-dependent impact on testosterone production.

The effect of temperature and age of strains of Fusarium oxysporum on its enzymatic activity.

The activities of pectin-methyl-esterase, polygalacturonase, cellulase, amylase, saccharase, and protease of strains of Fusarium oxysporum (Schlecht.) f.sp. pisi (Linford) were studied. The selected strains showed different symptoms and different degrees of pathogenicity on the host plant. The measurements were performed during the growth of strains at constant temperatures and, in another experiment, on the day at different temperatures at which the individual strains were grown. Activities were determined by the plate methods and by the spectrophotometric method. It has been found that enzyme activity of the strains with different degree of pathogenicity show considerable differences in dependence on temperature and growth dynamics.

Different manifestations of the pathogenity of some strains of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. pisi.

Different cultivation and morphology characteristics were found in 10 monospore isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. pisi, obtained from yellowing and wilting plants of pea (Pisum sativum L.). The isolates of the fungus were obtained from distant geographical regions of Czechoslovakia and from various cultivars and hybrids of pea. After inoculation of roots, followed by constant conditions of incubation of the Meteor and Jupiter cultivars having their origin at the Plant-breeding Station at Luzany u Prestic, the isolates caused various symptoms of disease, each isolate showed a different degree of pathogenity. The variability of the pathogenity of the isolates depended on the host. Its manifestation, in turn, depended on the dynamics of growth and development of the pathogen as well as the host. The following symptoms could be observed during the pathogenesis: the dying of cotyledons after the contact of the main root with the inoculum, the dying of young plants (the plants usually forming two stems), wilting of young plants, yellowing of bottom leaves and wilting beginning from the bottom leaves, stunted growth, and plant deformation. The symptoms of disease are related to the changes in vascular system.