Pathomorphological analysis of internal endometriosis.

We performed clinical and morphological examination of 59 women with internal endometriosis (adenomyosis). Women were found to develop adenomyosis more frequently in the perimenopausal period (in their 40s) after repeated abortions and diagnostic surgical procedures. In 90% patients, adenomyosis was associated with the formation of multiple leyomyomatous nodules; glandular hyperplasia of the endometrium and fibrocystic transformation or fibrous degeneration of the ovaries were found in 60 and 100% cases. Two morphological variants of adenomyosis were identified: invasion of cytogenic stroma into the underlying myometrium with the formation of endometrial glands and invasion of cytogenic stroma via connective tissue interlayers without formation of endometrial glands and with pronounced neoangiogenesis. Foci of active adenomyosis in the uterus with predominance of cytogenic stroma were most prevalent in the late reproductive period. Endometrioid heterotopias were accompanied by considerable structural and functional reorganization of the myometrium with the formation of multiple leyomyomatous nodules. The presence of active and inactive adenomyosis foci and leyomyomatous nodules in uterus specimens reflects their metachronous development.

[Effect of hepatocarcinogenicity of estragole on the glucocorticoid-mediated induction of liver-specific enzymes and the activity of the transcription factors FOXA and HNF4 in the liver of mouse and rat].

The carcinogenic effects of estragole in mice of the earlier unexplored strain ICR has been studied. It has been shown that there is a distinct correlation between the extent of inhibition of glucocorticoid-mediated induction of tyrosine aminotransferase and trypthophan oxygenase after acute administration of estragole and the frequency of liver tumors after estragole exposure. Estragole inhibits the induction of these enzymes only in female mice, but not in male mice and rats. DNA-binding activities of liver-enriched transcription factors were investigated on carcinogen-susceptible and -resistant animals. Estragole decreases the HNF4 (hepatic nuclear factor 4) and FOXA DNA-binding activities only in susceptible female mice, but not in nonsusceptible male mice and rats and does not influence the C/EBP and HNF1 activities. Pentachlorophenol, which prevents the hepatocarcinogenic effect of estragole, abolishes its inhibitory effect on tyrosine aminotransferase and trypthophan oxygenase glucocorticoid induction and restores the FOXA and HNF4 DNA-binding activities. The parallelism between the hepatocarcinogenic effects of estragole and the inhibition of FOXA and HNF4 DNA-binding activities serves as an additional argument for the involvement of these factors in the mechanisms of tumor suppression in the liver.

Correlation between hepatocarcinogenic effect of estragole and its influence on glucocorticoid induction of liver-specific enzymes and activities of FOXA and HNF4 transcription factors in mouse and rat liver.

It is known that the carcinogenic effect of estragole, a component of essential oils of many spicy plants, is characterized by species, tissue, and sex specificity. It causes mainly liver tumors in female mice but is not carcinogenic for male mice and for rats. In this work, the estragole hepatocarcinogenicity was shown for female mice of previously not studied ICR line. The strict correlation between estragole hepatocarcinogenicity and its ability to decrease the level of glucocorticoid induction of liver-specific enzymes tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) and tryptophan oxygenase (TO) was found. Inhibition of TAT and TO inducibility by estragole takes place only in female mice but not in male mice and in rats. Studying the estragole effect on DNA-binding activity of transcription factors, present mainly in liver and regulating expression of genes encoding liver-specific proteins, has shown that estragole decreases FOXA and HNF4 activities but not activities of C/EBP and HNF1, and this happens only in female mice, for which this substance is hepatocarcinogen, but not in male mice and in rats. Pentachlorophenol, preventing hepatocarcinogenic effect of estragole, abolishes inhibitory influence of the latter on the TAT and TO glucocorticoid induction and restores DNA-binding activity of FOXA and HNF4. Thus, a correlation was revealed between the estragole hepatocarcinogenic effect and decrease in DNA-binding activity of transcription factors FOXA and HNF4, which might be indicative of the role of these factors in tumor suppression mechanisms in liver.

Promoting effect of o-aminoazotoluene on hepatocarcinogenesis is accompanied by the increase in inflammatory and proliferative processes in liver tissue and decrease in the concentration of free thyroxin in the blood.

o-Aminoazotoluene in noncarcinogenic doses promoted the development of liver tumors in female ICR mice induced by administration of diethylnitrosamine during early ontogeny. Severe inflammatory infiltration and proliferation of oval cells were found in liver tissue of these animals. The concentration of free thyroxin decreased in the blood. Our results supplement published data that promoters of hepatocarcinogenesis inhibit thyroid function.

[Age- and sex-related differences in sensitivity to hepatotoxic action of estragole in mice].

As determined by blood activity of alanine- and aspartate aminotransferases, intraperitoneal injection of estragole in subcarcinogenic dose 300 mg/kg does not damage the liver of suckling off-spring of both sexes and of adult SWR/J males but drastically damages it in mature females of this strain. Castration only slightly decreases the resistance of males to hepatotoxic action of estragole but significantly increases it in females; exogenous administration of estradiole benzoate to castrated males decreases their resistance to the hepatotoxin, whereas administration of testosterone propionate to ovariectomyzed females does not elevate it. Morphologically, estragole damages the same number of liver cells in females and males, but in males it induces mostly hydropic degenerative, and in females--necrotic changes of hepatocytes.

Effect of liver macrophage depression on the development of liver metastases of HA-1 tumor in mice.

Gadolinium chloride (5 mg/kg) administered to mice 24 h before intravenous transplantation of HA-1 hepatoma cells decreased the volume density of tumor implants in the liver, reduced the intensity of degenerative and necrotic changes developing under the effect of growing tumor metastases, and prolonged the life span of tumor-bearing mice. Development of metastases was not associated with changes in cathepsin B activity in the liver, while activity of cathepsin L decreased only during the early period (4 days) after injection of gadolinium chloride. Injection of gadolinium chloride led to labilization of liver cell lysosomes because of overload with gadolinium chloride particles. The positive effect of gadolinium chloride was probably associated with depression of liver macrophages at the stage of tumor cell invasion and with subsequent migration of monocytes/macrophages preventing the growth of formed metastatic nodes in the liver.

[Embryonic mechanisms in development of spina bifida in humans]. / Embrional'nye mekhanizmy razvitiia spina bifida u cheloveka.

The study of 86 human embryos and fetuses beginning from 23rdday of development up to 18th week after fecundation has detected 23 cases of pathologic development which correspond to the modern definition of spina bifida (SB). It is shown that the cause of various forms of the anomaly is the disturbance or temporary delay of a movement of caudal neurulation wave forming the spinal cord. The anomaly size and type are determined by the time and duration of a pathogenic action on neurulation. Postnatal or the 1st type of SB develops in neurulation wave disturbance not longer than 4-6 hours. Anomaly consequence may be compensated surgically. The 2nd or fetal type of SB arises when neurulation delay is from 6 to 20 hours. If the delay occurs on the 22-24th day of development, embryos die by the neurulation end. If the delay takes place on the 26-28th day embryos may survive till the late fetal period. In embryonal or type III of SB embryos die by the end of the 8th week and do not enter the medical statistics. Their death is associated with delayed movement of the caudal neurulation wave for 24 hours and longer. This results in a spontaneous abortion.

[Morphology of tissue reactions around implants after combined surgical repair of the abdominal wall]. / Morfologiia tkanevykh reaktsii vokrug implantatov, ispol'zuemykh dlia kombinirovannoi plastiki briushnoi stenki.

Tissue reactions to titanium-nickelide and polypropylen and caprone implants used in surgical treatment of anterior aldomen wall hernias were studied in experiment. Digital density of leukocytes, fibroblasts, vessels, thickness of the capsule were studied. Pronounced inflammatory reaction was observed on day 3 which attenuated on day 14 in case of titanium nickelide and on day 30-60 in case of polypropylene and caprone. Fibroplastic processes start in the first group after 7 days while in the second group only after 30 days of the experiment. Thickness of the capsule around titanium-nickelide was 2-3 times less than around polypropylene and caprone. Thus, titanium-nickelide material is biologically more inert than caprone and polypropylen which are widely used in surgery of hernias.

Potentiation of antitumor effects of cisplatin by tumor necrosis factor-beta.

Recombinant tumor necrosis factor-beta potentiated the inhibitory effect of cisplatin on intramuscularly transplanted GA-1 tumor and liver metastasis in mice. The antitumor effect was related to cytotoxic and cytostatic activities of the test preparations rather than to initiation of apoptosis.