[TITLE].

The purpose of study is to establish features of autoimmune reaction of children with Crohn's disease. The sampling included 62 patients aged from 2 to 17 years with diagnosis of Crohn's disease. The evaluation was carried out concerning concentration in blood serum of immunoglobulins IgA, IgM, IgG, IgЕ, antibodies to Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ASCA) classes IgA, IgG и IgЕ, antibodies to Candida albicans classes IgA, IgM, IgG и IgЕ, anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) to myeloperoxidase (MPO), to proteinase 3 (PR3), anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), antibodies to DNAds, DNAss (to double-helical and single-stranded DNA), antibodies to antigens of small and large intestines, pancreas, circulating immune complexes. The hyperimmunoglobulinemia was diagnosed in 47 (75.8%) out of 62 patients with Crohn's disease. The increased level of IgM in blood was detected in 29 patients (46.8%). The hyperimmunoglobulinemia У was established in 19 (30.6%) out of 62 children. The hypoimmunoglobulinemia was detected in 22 (35.5%) of patients and in 17 (77.3%) out of them the disimmunoglobulinemia type IV (isolated decreasing of concentration of IgA). The evaluation of rate of occurrence of specifc antibodies in blood serum demonstrated that in patients most frequently was detected presence of specifc IgE to Saccharomyces cerevisiae (70.9%). The increased level of ASCA (IgA, IgG) was detected in 22 (35.5%) patients. The concentration of antibodies to DNAds, DNAss in blood exceeded standard value in 4.8% and 16.1% patients correspondingly. The increased level of circulating immune complex was established in 20 (32.3%) patients. The concentration of ANA corresponded to standard values in all 62 (100%) patients. The evaluation of results of correlation analysis established a strong positive correlation of concentration in blood of antibodies to antigens of small and large intestines; average positive correlation of level of antibodies to antigens of small intestine and IgM, ANCA PR3, ASCA IgE, antibodies to Candida albicans classes IgM, IgG, IgE, antibodies to antigens of pancreas; average degree of positive correlation between concentration of antibodies to antigens of large intestine and IgA, IgM, circulating immune complex, ANCA PR3, DNAss, ASCA IgE, antibodies to antigens of pancreas; strong positive correlation between concentrations of IgA to Candida albicans and ANA. The detection of auto-to antibodies Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans, ANCA, antigens of small and large intestines, pancreas and expressed degree of correlation of many indices of autoimmune reaction indicate to intensity of immune pathological process under Crohn's disease. Under Crohn's disease, the formation of antibodies to ASCA is a prognostically unfavorable sign. The immune diagnostic under Crohn's disease is necessary for evaluating severity of course of disease, differential diagnostic, establishment of prognosis and selection of individual immune correcting therapy.

Polymorphism of Oprm1 Gene and Its Association with Manifestations of N-(1-Phenethyl-4-Piperidyl)Propionanilide Intoxication in Rats.

We studied association of Oprm1 gene polymorphisms with signs of N-(1-phenethyl-4-piperidyl)propionanilide intoxication in rats. It was found that the rate of intoxication in laboratory animals depends on genetic features. A polymorphic variant rs105312806 of Oprm1 gene can be a possible marker of animal sensitivity to opioid receptor agonists. This hypothesis was supported by differences in the rats of intoxication signs such as time to lateral posture and sleep duration in homozygous rats carrying different alleles. In rats with AA genotype, the time to lateral posture was shorter by 1.3 times and sleep duration was longer by 3.5 times than in carriers of GG genotype.

High-resolution investigations of ripple structures formed by femtosecond laser irradiation of silicon.

We report on the structural investigation of self-organized periodic microstructures (ripples) generated in Si(100) targets after multishot irradiation by approximately 100-fs to 800-nm laser pulses at intensities near the single shot ablation threshold. Inspection by surface sensitive microscopy, e.g., atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and conventional and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveal complex structural modifications upon interaction with the laser: even well outside the ablated area, the target surface exhibits fine ripple-like undulations, consisting of alternating crystalline and amorphous silicon. Inside the heavily modified area, amorphous silicon is found only in the valleys but not on the crests which, instead, consist of highly distorted crystalline phases, rich in defects.

Role of myosin-II phosphorylation in V12Cdc42-mediated disruption of Drosophila cellularization.

Microinjection of constitutively active Cdc42 (V12Cdc42) disrupts the actomyosin cytoskeleton during cellularization (Crawford et al., Dev. Biol., 204, 151-164 (1998)). The p21-activated kinase (PAK) family of Ser/Thr kinases are effectors of GTP-bound forms of the small GTPases, Cdc42 and Rac. Drosophila PAK, which colocalizes with actin and myosin-II during cellularization, concentrates at sites of V12Cdc42-induced actomyosin disruption. In vitro biochemical analyses demonstrate that PAK phosphorylates the regulatory light chain (RLC) of Drosophila nonmuscle myosin-II on Ser21, a site known to activate myosin-II function. Although activated PAK does not disrupt the actomyosin cytoskeleton, it induces increased levels of Ser21 phosphorylated RLC. These findings suggest that increased levels of RLC phosphorylation do not contribute to disruption of the actomyosin hexagonal array.

Protein kinase C mediates phosphorylation of the regulatory light chain of myosin-II during mitosis.

Phosphorylation of the regulatory light chain (RLC) of myosin-II is cell cycle dependent. Early in mitosis the RLC is phosphorylated predominantly on Ser-1/2, while during cytokinesis the primary site of phosphorylation is Ser-19 (Yamakita et al., 1994). To identify candidate kinases likely to mediate the mitotic phosphorylation on Ser-1/2, we assayed RLC kinase activity in mitotic cell extracts and measured apparent steady-state kinetic constants using purified enzymes. The mitotic RLC kinase is distinct from cdc2 kinase, protein kinase A and protein kinase G, as activators or inhibitors specific for these kinases do not affect the mitotic kinase activity. The activity of the mitotic RLC kinase is enhanced by the addition of Ca2+ and DAG and/or phorbol esters, characteristics of a conventional protein kinase C (PKC). Moreover, the PKC inhibitors, Gö6983 and Gö6976, significantly attenuate the phosphorylation of the RLC in mitotic extracts. Apparent steady-state kinetic studies indicate that several PKC isoforms display high specificity for myosin-II. These results suggest that current models describing Ser-1/2 phosphorylation during mitosis need to be re-evaluated.

Localization and activity of myosin light chain kinase isoforms during the cell cycle.

Phosphorylation on Ser 19 of the myosin II regulatory light chain by myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) regulates actomyosin contractility in smooth muscle and vertebrate nonmuscle cells. The smooth/nonmuscle MLCK gene locus produces two kinases, a high molecular weight isoform (long MLCK) and a low molecular weight isoform (short MLCK), that are differentially expressed in smooth and nonmuscle tissues. To study the relative localization of the MLCK isoforms in cultured nonmuscle cells and to determine the spatial and temporal dynamics of MLCK localization during mitosis, we constructed green fluorescent protein fusions of the long and short MLCKs. In interphase cells, localization of the long MLCK to stress fibers is mediated by five DXRXXL motifs, which span the junction of the NH(2)-terminal extension and the short MLCK. In contrast, localization of the long MLCK to the cleavage furrow in dividing cells requires the five DXRXXL motifs as well as additional amino acid sequences present in the NH(2)-terminal extension. Thus, it appears that nonmuscle cells utilize different mechanisms for targeting the long MLCK to actomyosin structures during interphase and mitosis. Further studies have shown that the long MLCK has twofold lower kinase activity in early mitosis than in interphase or in the early stages of postmitotic spreading. These findings suggest a model in which MLCK and the myosin II phosphatase (Totsukawa, G., Y. Yamakita, S. Yamashiro, H. Hosoya, D.J. Hartshorne, and F. Matsumura. 1999. J. Cell Biol. 144:735-744) act cooperatively to regulate the level of Ser 19-phosphorylated myosin II during mitosis and initiate cytokinesis through the activation of myosin II motor activity.

Sulfuryl transfer: the catalytic mechanism of human estrogen sulfotransferase.

Estrogen sulfotransferase (EST) catalyzes the transfer of the sulfuryl group from 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) to 17beta-estradiol (E2). The sulfation of E2 prevents it from binding to, and thereby activating, the estrogen receptor. The regulation of EST appears to be causally linked to tumorigenesis in the breast and endometrium. In this study, recombinant human EST is characterized, and the catalytic mechanism of the transfer reaction is investigated in ligand binding and initial rate experiments. The native enzyme is a dimer of 35-kDa subunits. The apparent equilibrium constant for transfer to E2 is (4.5 +/- 0.2) x 10(3) at pH 6.3 and T = 25 +/- 2 degrees C. Initial rate studies provide the kinetic constants for the reaction and suggest a sequential mechanism. E2 is a partial substrate inhibitor (Ki = 80 +/- 5 nM). The binding of two E2 per EST subunit suggests that the partial inhibition occurs through binding at an allosteric site. In addition to providing the dissociation constants for the ligand-enzyme complexes, binding studies demonstrate that each substrate binds independently to the enzyme and that both the E.PAP.E2S and E.PAP.E2 dead-end complexes form. These results strongly suggest a Random Bi Bi mechanism with two dead-end complexes.

Regulating energy transfer in the ATP sulfurylase-GTPase system.

ATP sulfurylase, isolated from Escherichia coli K-12, is a GTPase-target complex that catalyzes and links the energetics of GTP hydrolysis to the synthesis of activated sulfate (APS). When the GTP concentration is saturating and held fixed with a regenerating system, the APS reaction reaches a steady state in which its mass ratio is shifted (5.4 x 10(6))-fold toward the product by the hydrolysis of GTP. If GTP is not regenerated, the shift toward the product is transient, producing a pulse-shaped progress curve. The mechanistic basis of this transience is the subject of this paper. The product transient is caused by the binding of GDP to the enzyme which establishes a catalytic pathway that allows the chemical potential that had been transferred to the APS reaction to "leak" into the chemical milieu. The system leaks because the E.GDP complex catalyzes the uncoupled APS reaction. The addition of phosphate to the leaky GDP.E.APS.PPi complex converts it into the central Pi.GDP.E.APS.PPi complex which catalyzes the energy-transfer reaction. Thus, Pi binding directs the system through the coupled mechanism, "plugging" the leak. GMPPNP, which also causes a leak, is used to demonstrate that the mass ratio of the APS reaction can be "tuned" by adjusting flux through the coupled and uncoupled pathways. This energy-coupling mechanism provides a means for controlling the quantity of chemical potential transferred to the APS reaction. This versatile linkage might well be used to the cell's advantage to avoid the toxicity associated with an excess of activated sulfate.

[Management of patients after reconstructive and restorative surgery of the large intestine]. / Vedenie bolnykh posle rekonstruktivno-vosstanovitelnykh operatsii na tolstoi kishke.

Reconstructive-restorative operations were conducted on the large intestine in 932 patients. Means of optimization of treatment in the early postoperative period in elderly and old-aged patients, who often have concomitant diseases, must be searched for. The dynamics of energy consumption in the early postoperative period was studied in 15 patients. Considerable effectiveness of complex diet including proteins was established during elaboration of individual dosed feeding. The immune status was studied in dynamics in 38 patients; immunomodulation agents lead in most cases to restoration of the reduced immunity indices or have a stabilizing effect on them when used both as a preventive and as a therapeutic measure. Percutaneous electrostimulation in the early postoperative period proved to be highly effective in arresting the pain syndrome, removal of functional intestinal paresis and reflex ischuria.

[Energy expenditure in patients receiving parenteral feeding in the early postoperative period after surgical interventions on the large intestine]. / Energotraty bol'nykh, nakhodivshikhsia na parenteral'nom pitanii v rannem posleoperatsionnom periode posle khirurgicheskikh vmeshatel'stv na tolstoi kishke.

Indirect calorimetry was used to study the basal metabolism and energy expenditure at rest in 31 patients aged 20-80 years, on day 2 after surgery on the large intestine. It was found that the basal metabolism was increased by 13% in 64.5% of the patients (group 1) and decreased by the same value in the rest patients (group 2). The fluctuation range of energy expenditure in some patients of group 1 was from 1000 to 3400 kcal, in those of group 2, from 500 to 2000 kcal. The respiratory guotient in both groups was about 0.7. The direct measurement of energy expenditure at the early postoperational period would aid in proper rationing energy components in the total volume of the parenteral nutrition of operated on patients.