Intermittent hypoxia mobilizes hematopoietic progenitors and augments cellular and humoral elements of innate immunity in adult men.

This study tested the hypothesis that intermittent hypoxia treatment (IHT) modulates circulating hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) and augments humoral and cellular components of innate immunity in young, healthy men. Ten subjects (group 1: age 31±4 yr) were studied before and at 1 and 7 days after a 14-day IHT program consisting of four 5-min bouts/day of breathing 10% O2, lowering arterial O2 saturation to 84% to 85%, with intervening 5-min room-air exposures. Five more subjects (group 2: age 29±5 yr) were studied during 1 IHT session. Immunofluorescence detected HSPCs as CD45+CD34+ cells in peripheral blood. Phagocytic and bactericidal activities of neutrophils, circulating immunoglobulins (IgM, IgG, IgA), immune complexes, complement, and cytokines (erythropoietin, TNF-α, IL-4, IFN-γ) were measured. In group 1, the HSPC count fell 27% below pre-IHT baseline 1 week after completing IHT, without altering erythrocyte and reticulocyte counts. The IHT program also activated complement, increased circulating platelets, augmented phagocytic and bactericidal activities of neutrophils, sharply lowered circulating TNF-α and IL-4 by >90% and ∼75%, respectively, and increased IFN-γ, particularly 1 week after IHT. During acute IHT (group 2), HSPC increased by 51% after the second hypoxia bout and by 19% after the fourth bout, and total leukocyte, neutrophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte counts also increased; but these effects subsided by 30 min post-IHT. Collectively, these results demonstrate that IHT enhances innate immunity by mobilizing HSPC, activating neutrophils, and increasing circulating complement and immunoglobulins. These findings support the potential for eventual application of IHT for immunotherapy.

Fertility restoration by the cryopreservation of oocytes and ovarian tissue from the position of biomedical ethics: a review.

The loss of fertility as a consequence of chemoradiotherapy is a considerable problem. It can affect the psychological equilibrium and quality of life for women cancer survivors. In recent years, the possibility of cryopresenrvation of ovarian tissue following auto transplantation, opens new promise in the attempt to restore fertility. In addition to psychological and ethical concerns of this procedure, there are risks of retransplantation of tumor cells and recurrence of malignancy. In this review we will focus on the most recent achievements in cryopreservation of oocytes and ovarian tissue and will attempt to answer questions about the safety and effectiveness of restoration of fertility by cryopreservation of oocytes or ovarian tissue.

Intermittent hypoxia research in the former soviet union and the commonwealth of independent States: history and review of the concept and selected applications.

This review aims to summarize the basic research in the field of intermittent hypoxia in the Soviet Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that scientists in other Western countries may not be familiar with, since Soviet scientists were essentially cut off from the global scientific community for about 60 years. In the 1930s the concept of repeated hypoxic training was developed and the following induction methods were utilized: repeated stays at high-mountain camps for several weeks, regular high altitude flights by plane, training in altitude chambers, and training by inhalation of low-oxygen-gas mixtures. To the present day, intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) has been used extensively for altitude preacclimatization; for the treatment of a variety of clinical disorders, including chronic lung diseases, bronchial asthma, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, emotional disorders, and radiation toxicity, in prophylaxis of certain occupational diseases; and in sports. The basic mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of IHT are mainly in three areas: regulation of respiration, free-radical production, and mitochondrial respiration. It was found that IHT induces increased ventilatory sensitivity to hypoxia, as well as other hypoxia-related physiological changes, such as increased hematopoiesis, alveolar ventilation and lung diffusion capacity, and alterations in the autonomic nervous system. Due to IHT, antioxidant defense mechanisms are stimulated, cellular membranes become more stable, Ca(2+) elimination from the cytoplasm is increased, and O(2) transport in tissues is improved. IHT induces changes within mitochondria, involving NAD-dependent metabolism, that increase the efficiency of oxygen utilization in ATP production. These effects are mediated partly by NO-dependent reactions. The marked individual variability both in animals and humans in the response to, and tolerance of, hypoxia is described. Studies from the Soviet Union and the CIS significantly contributed to the understanding of intermittent hypoxia and its possible beneficial effects and should stimulate further research in this direction in other countries.