[The influence of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on the behavior in old non-human primates].

At present time there is a lack of satisfactory understanding of how DHEA affects cognition and nervous system function. Aim of the present study to evaluate effects of long-term DH EA administration of physiological doses on the Higher Brain Activity (HBA) in rhesus macaques (RM) at the limits of their biological age. The study included 9 male RM aged 24-30 years. Five of them were given im injections of DHEA (1 mg/kg each two days for 3 months). 4 control monkeys were administered the vehicle alone. Cortisol, testosterone, and free thyroxin were measured by chemiluminescent immunoassay. HBA was studied by classical motor-food conditioning (to estimate long-term memory) and by determining delayed response time (a measure of short-term memory). RM had to respond to a positive signal (1000 Hz) and no bar-pressing was required in response to a negative signal (400 Hz). MR were free to move in the cage during the experiment. Their behavior was tested before, within 1, 2, 3 months of DHEA administration and 3 months after its termination. The HBA increased of all 5 RM within 1, 2, and 3 month after the beginning of DHEA administration. Both long- and short-term memory stably improved while response time decreased from 5 to 1-1.5 s. The behavior of RM changed radically from passive one to enhanced motor activity and food motivation. These effects of DHEA persisted as long as 3 months after DHEA treatment. During DHEA treatment the steady tendency to rising in a blood concentrations of a free thyroxine, testosterone and DHEA was observed. DHEA administration caused a rise in testosterone, free thyroxin levels and DHEAS levels. In three months after DHEA treatment the hairs lost in the old monkeys was restored and this effect remained within one years of observation. Conclusion. Administration of physiological doses of DHEA to old RM induced a stable increase of Higher Brain Activity with harmonization of excitation and inhibition processes; radically enhanced motor and food activity; completely restored body hairiness which already remained within one year.

[Experimental whooping cough of nonhuman primate].

Despite considerable success in study of Bordetella pertussis virulence factors, pathogenesis of whooping cough, duration of B. pertussis bacteria persistence, types and mechanisms of immune response are still keep underinvestigated. It can be explained by the absence ofadequate experimental animal model for pertussis study. Our study estimates clinical and laboratory parameters of whooping cough in non-human primates of the Old World in the process of intranasan infection by virulent B. pertussis bacteria. Also the duration of B. pertussis bacteria persistence in animals was investigated. 14 animal units of 4 species of non-human primates of the Old World were used for intranasal infection. The examination of infect animals included: visual exploration of nasopharynx, thermometry, clinical and biochemical blood analyses, identification ofB. pertussis, using microbiologic and molecular genetic analyses, estimation of innate and adoptive immune factors. The development of infectious process was accompanied by generation of B. pertussis bacteria, catarrhal inflammation of nasopharyngeal mucosa, leucocytosis, hypoglycemia specific for pertussis, and activation of innate and adaptive immunity for all primates regardless of specie were seen. While repeated experimental infection in primates single bacterial colonies were registered during only first week after challenge. It occurs like the absence of inflammation of nasopharyngeal mucosa and the lack of laboratory marks of whooping cough, recorded after first challenge. The evident booster effect of humoral immunity was observed. As a model for investigation of B. pertussis bacteria persistence and immune response against whooping cough we suggest the usage of rhesus macaque as more available to experiments.

[Rheology, hemolysis and peripheral blood indices in macaccus rhesus monkeys in health and posthemorrhagic period].

Twenty monkeys (macaccus rhesus) were examined by the following parameters: deformability of erythrocytes and mononuclear leukocytes, hemolytic activity of the serum, free hemoglobin of the serum and viscosity of plasma. The data obtained are accepted as standard because literature data on hemorrheology of monkeys are absent. Compared to relevant indices in humans, monkeys have increased hematocrit, serum hemolytic activity, erythrocytic rigidity index. Seven monkeys were used as the model of "donor" (6-8% blood loss). The above indices were measured before exfusion and on days 2, 7, 14 and 21 after exfusion. Maximal changes in rheology and hemolysis were observed on day 2 and 7 after blood loss which correlated with deviations of the red sprout of hemogeny.

[The characteristics of oxolinic acid transport in the blood of dogs and monkeys when administered intramuscularly and perorally]. / Osobennosti transporta oksolinovoi kisloty v krovi u sobak i obez'ian pri vmutrimyshechnom i peroral'nom vvedenii.

A possibility of testing oxolynic acid (OA) transport in blood of animals by its bactericidal effect was studied experimentally on macaques and non-pedigree dogs (intramuscular and peroral administration). Kinetics of accumulation and elimination of OA and its derivatives exhibiting bactericidal effect makes it possible to predict optimum scheme of using these drugs in prevention and treatment of radiation disease.

[Immune reaction in monkeys to single and fractionated low-dose gamma-irradiation]. / Reaktsiia immunnoi sistemy obezían na odnokratnoe i fraktsionirovannoe gamma-obluchenie v malykh dozakh.

A study was made of total and local immunity of two groups of Papio hamadryads subjected to single and ten-fold external gamma-irradiation at a cumulative dose of 5 cGy. It has been shown that with equal dosages changes in the relative and absolute number of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, the number of circulating T-cells and their functional activity are more pronounced in animals subjected to fractionated irradiation. Both groups exhibited similar disturbances in the functional activity of antibody-dependent killers and in local immunity of stomatopharynx. Analysis of the immunological data and the results of hydrocortisone content determinations in blood serum of exposed animals has demonstrated the presence of both direct effect of low-level radiation on the immune system and indirect effect that is particularly pronounced in case of multifraction long-term irradiation.

[The information value of clinico-hematologic criteria for the early diagnosis of acute radiation sickness in pig-tailed macaques]. / Informativnost' kliniko-gematologicheskikh kriteriev rannei diagnostiki ostroi luchevoi bolezni u obez'ian makakov-lapunderov.

Ten pig-tailed monkeys (Macaca nemestrina) were subjected to 60Co radiation at a dose of 6.0-6.5 Gy and a dose rate of 1.2 Gy/min. Acute radiation sickness has developed in the monkeys causing their death on the 16-20 day. In spite of this, the initial reaction was weakly expressed and according to its manifestation it was impossible to evaluate severity and possible outcome of the lesion. At an early stage of the disease (6-24 hours) insufficient was uranin fluorescence in blood plasma, but more informative were the changes in adhesive properties of leukocytes the dynamics of lymphocytes (lymphopenia), reticulocytes (reticulocytopenia) and shifts in reticulograms (increased per cent of juvenile forms).

[Changes in DNA and surface properties of peripheral blood leukocytes in monkeys after total gamma irradiation]. / Izmeneniia DNK i poverkhnostnykh svoistv leikotsitov perifericheskoi krovi obez'ian pri obshchem gamma-obluchenii.

Changes of Macaca nemestrina and Rhesus blood DNA have been studied up to 5 days after the total uniform gamma-irradiation in doses 6.2 and 6.5 Gy. The content of nucleotide ATrich DNA has been evaluated in the fractions of leucocytes with the various surface adherence properties. The dynamics of the content nucleotide AT-DNA and blood leucocytes were similar at the both monkey species. The evaluation of structural state DNA in the blood nucleotide with the fluorescent dyes (ethidium bromide and 4; 6-diamidine-2-phenylindole) demonstrated that the important changes in the polynucleotide structure occurred from 6 to 24 h after irradiation and maintained up to 5 days. Adhesive capacity changes were reversible but they preceded the DNA structural changes. At 24 h postirradiation non-adhesive cells with relative higher AT-DNA content were found.

[Cytogenetic study of the bone marrow and peripheral blood lymphocytes in monkeys in long-term gamma irradiation]. / Tsitogeneticheskoe issledovanie kostnogo mozga i limfotsitov perifericheskoi krovi u obez'ian, perenesshikh prolongirovannoe gamma-obluchenie.

A comparative study of chromosome structures of bone marrow and peripheral blood cells has been carried out in 8 rhesus macaques (2-7 years of age), 4 of which survived after prolonged low-capacity (3.87 microA/kg) gamma irradiation, the total dose being 7.97 Gy (LD50/60). It has been established that prolonged low-capacity gamma irradiation was of a high mutagenic activity. Various tissues of irradiated monkeys showed differences in the frequency (4 months) and types (4-33 months) of aberrations within the period of 4 to 33 months following irradiation. Mutagenic effect characteristic of the early period after the irradiation was retained in the peripheral blood of irradiated monkeys within the period of observation.

[Proteinase inhibitors of the blood plasma in the early period of the development of acute radiation sickness in monkeys]. / Ingibitory proteinaz plazmy krovi v rannii period razvitiia ostroi luchevoi bolezni u obez'ian.

A study was made of the postirradiation kinetics of blood antiproteinase activity in monkeys (Macaca nemestrina). Whole-body uniform gamma-irradiation (LD100/45) was shown to induce a significant decrease in the activity of alpha 2-macroglobulin during the first 24 h following irradiation: the decreased activity level was retained throughout the entire latent period of radiation sickness. At the height of radiation sickness (the 7th-10th day) up to the animals' death, a sharp increase was registered in the activity of alpha 1-inhibitor of blood plasma proteinases. The authors discuss a pathogenetic role of the diminution of the inhibitory potential of blood in the course of radiation sickness.

[Dynamics of the chromosome aberrations in the bone marrow cells of monkeys after prolonged irradiation]. / Dinamika aberatsii khromosom v kletkakh kostnogo mozga obez'ian posle prolongirovannogo oblucheniia.

The effect of prolonged gamma-irradiation with doses of low intensity (3.87 microA/kg) was studied in the bone marrow cells of monkeys (Macaca rhesus). The cumulative dose was 214.14-221.88 mC/kg. Statistically significant differences in the frequency of chromosome aberrations and the percentage of polyploid bone marrow cells, as compared to the level of spontaneous aberrations, were observed during 42 months following the exposure.