[Changes in the receptor function of Na,K-ATPase during hypoxia and ischemia].

Na,K-ATPase maintains sodium and potassium homeostasis. It is the only known receptor for cardiotonic steroids such as ouabain. Binding of ouabain to Na,K-ATPase leads to the activation of Src kinase and the subsequent initiation of intracellular signaling pathways, including the induction of apoptosis. Changes in Na,K-ATPase activity is one of the earliest responses to hypoxia and is most critical for cell survival. However, it is not known how the hypoxia affects the functioning of Na,K-ATPase as a receptor. We have shown that, under the conditions of hypoxia and ischemia, ouabain is less toxic for murine fibroblast cells (SC-1 cell line) and ouabain does not cause an increase in the level of reactive oxygen species, which is typically observed at 20% pO2. Under hypoxia, the treatment of cells with ouabain also does not lead to the activation of Na,K-ATPase-associated Src kinase. Thus, at low oxygen content, the receptor function of Na,K-ATPase is altered, and cells become less sensitive to cardiotonic steroids. The decrease in sensitivity to cardiotonic steroids, which is evident at hypoxic conditions, should be taken into account in clinical practice. At the same time, in the presence of ouabain the cells are less sensitive to hypoxia, which indicates that cardiotonic steroids can be protective in acute ischemia.

Alzheimer's disease Aß42 peptide induces an increase in Na,K-ATPase glutathionylation.

We have shown that the inhibition of Na,K-ATPase during its long-term incubation with amyloid beta (Aß42), an Alzheimer's disease protein, is caused by the change in the thiol redox status of cells leading to induction of glutathionylation α-subunit of Na,K-ATPase. To restore the activity of Na,K-ATPase, it is proposed to use reducing agents, which promote normalization of the redox status of cells and deglutathionylation of the protein.

[Ribonuclease binase induces death in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells by apoptosis].

Bacterial ribonuclease binase is a potential anticancer agent. In the present study, we have determined the toxic effect of binase towards cell lines of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia Jurkat and CEMss. We have shown that binase induces apoptosis in these cells. At the same time, binase does not cause toxic effects in leukocytes of healthy donors, which suggests that binase activity towards leukemic cells is selective. We have found that the treatment of cancer cells with binase leads to a reduction in reactive oxygen species and transcription factor NFκB levels, and demonstrated that these effects are a common feature of the action of RNases on cancer cells.

[Isomerization of Asp7 increases the toxic effects of amyloid ß and its phosphorylated form in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells].

The generation of amyloid ß (Aß) toxic oligomers during the formation of senile plaques and amyloid fibrils is thought to play a central role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Aß production is a physiological process, but the factors that trigger a transition to pathogenic Aß aggregation remain unknown. Posttranslational modifications of Aß could potentially induce the transition. The effects of Aß and its modified forms containing isomerized Asp7, phosphorylated Ser8, or both, were studied in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Asp7 isomerization of was shown to increase cytotoxicity of both the intact and phosphorylated Aß. An increase in cytotoxicity was not associated with an increased internalization of the isomerized Asp7-containing Aß or an influence on the function of mitochondria or reduced glutathione and reactive oxygen species levels. The nitric oxide (NO) level was identified as a determinant of the cytotoxic effect of isomerized Asp7-containing peptides, a decrease in NO level correlating with an increase in cytotoxicity.

[The ability of cells to adjust to the low oxigen content associated with Na,K-ATPase glutationilation].

Decreasing the amount of oxygen in the tissues under hypoxic and ischemic conditions, observed at a number of pathologic processes, inevitably leads to their damage. One of the main causes of cell damage and death is a violation of the systems maintaining ionic balance. Na,K-ATPaseis a basic ion-transporting protein of animal cell plasma membrane and inhibition of the Na,K-ATPase activity at lower concentrations of oxygen is one of the earliest and most critical events for cell viability. Currently there is an active search for modulators of Na,K-ATPase activity. For this purpose traditionally used cardiac glycosides but the existence of serious adverse effects forced to look for alternative inhibitors of Na,K-ATPase. Previously we have found that the glutathionylation of Na,K-ATPase catalytic subunit leads to a complete-inhibition of the enzyme. In this paper it is shown that the agents which increase the level of Na,K-ATPase glutathionylation: ethyl glutathione (et-GSH), oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), increase cell survival under oxygen deficiency conditions, prevent decline of ATP in the cells and normalize their redox status. Concentration range in which these substances have a maximum protective effect, and does not exhibit cytotoxic properties was defined: for et-GSH 0.2-0.5 mM, for GSSG 0.2-1 mM, for NAC 10 to 15 mM. The results show prospects for development of methods for tissues protection from damage caused by oxygen starvation by varying the degree of Na,K-ATPase glutathionylation.

Ribonuclease binase decreases destructive changes of the liver and restores its regeneration potential in mouse lung carcinoma model.

The successful application of exogenous ribonucleases of different origin to suppress tumor growth allows one to consider them as perspective therapeutics for treatment of oncological diseases. An important aspect of the success of an anti-cancer drug is low hepatotoxicity, which will reduce, if not eliminate entirely the undesirable side effects of treatment. Previously we have shown that ribonuclease from Bacillus intermedius (binase) exhibits high antitumor and antimetastatic activity in tumor models of different histological origin. In this work we studied hepatotoxic action of binase using mouse tumor model of Lewis lung carcinoma. Binase at doses of 0.1-1 mg/kg which produced effective suppression of tumor growth and metastasis, showed positive effect on the liver of tumor-bearing mice expressed in a significant reduction in the volume of destructive changes in the liver parenchyma and return to the normal level of the liver regenerative potential impaired due to endogenous intoxication and tumor burden.