DISTRIBUTION OF GLIAL FIBRILLARY ACIDIC PROTEIN IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE RAT BRAIN UNDER CADMIUM EXPOSURE.

The chronic effects of low doses of cadmium on the distribution of soluble and filament forms of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and their polypeptide fragments in different parts of the rat brain were investigated. Obtained results showed dose-dependent effect of cadmium on the soluble form of GFAP and more pronounced effect on the filament form and composition of the polypeptide fragments of the protein in the rat brain. Prolonged intoxication by cadmium ions in a dose of 1.0 µg/kg of body weight induced a significant decrease in soluble GFAP and an increase in the filament form in the rat brain, pointing to the development of reactive astrogliosis and the risk of neurodegeneration.

The neuroprotective effect of 2-oxoglutarate in the experimental ischemia of hippocampus.

In this study we investigated the potential neuroprotective effect of 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) on the hippocampus in the transient vessel occlusion ischemia model in the Mongolian gerbil. The morphological and biochemical studies were performed at 7 days after occlusion of carotid arteries. The acute reduction of NeuN-positive neurons in the CA1 pyramidal layer of the hippocampus was accompanied by increased staining intensity for GFAP-positive astrocytes, indicative of glial reaction. The neuron death in the CA1 area coincided with a strong 2.4 fold decrease in the membrane forms of neuronal cell adhesion molecules and elevated levels of astrocyte-specific proteins (soluble GFAP to 2,6 times; filament GFAP to 1,5 times; calcium-binding protein S-100b to 1,6 times). Treatment with 2-oxoglutarate (2.28 g/l drinking water) for between 7 and 21 days attenuated the neuronal death and reactive astrogliosis in this model of experimental ischemia by 20-50%. Our results suggest that 2-OG may prevent the disturbances of neural cells that usually take place during ischemic pathology.

[Ultrasound assessment of the effectiveness of chemoradiotherapy in cervical cancer].

The study involved 64 patients with verified cervical carcinoma, aged 23-79, who had received combined chemo-radiotherapy. Results were evaluated by ultrasound monitoring. Most modem methods were used via transabdominal and transrectal access. Tumor structure changed and size diminished following vascularization decrease step in step with combined chemoradiotherapy. Ultrasound in combination with 3D ultrasound - angiography provided objective data on tumor state at each stage of therapy.

[Thyroid diseases in reproductive-age women living in Shoria mountains].

AIM: To analyze prevalence and structure of thyroid pathology in women of reproductive age living in Shoria mountains. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The examination of 409 women aged 18 to 40 living in mountain Shoria included assessment of social status, heredity, actual nutrition, visit to endocrinologist, ultrasound investigation of the thyroid, tests for thyroid hormones (TTH, T3, T4) in the serum, antibodies to microsomal fractions, iodine concentrations in the morning urine. RESULTS: Significant prevalence of thyroid diseases (62.3%), high rate of diffuse nontoxic goiter of the second degree (18.0%), nodular nontoxic goiter (11.8%), autoimmune thyroiditis (6.3%), hypothyroidism (5.5%), low median of iodine excretion with urine in women refer mountain Shoria to the zone of goiter endemia. CONCLUSION: Among migrants thyroid morbidity is significantly higher than among the native population. Eradication of goiter endemia will promote reproductive health in this region.

[Dynamics of changes in the heparin-binding activity of rat brain proteins after fractionated exposure to ionizing radiation of low intensity]. / Dinamika izmenenii geparinsviazyvaiushchei aktivnosti belkov mozga krys posle fraktsionirovannogo vozdeistviia ioniziruiushchego izlucheniia nizkoi intensivnosti.

In experiment on white rats it was shown that fractionated exposure to 1 sGy/day during 25 days is followed by the directed change in the total heparin-binding activity of proteins in the rat brain (both in males and in females) with maximum deviation from control by the 7th day after accumulation of a total dose of 25 sGy. The diverse in hemisphere cortex and hippocampus were different from those in brain trunk regions and cerebellum. It is supposed that a thin overturning of the intercellular and "cell-matrix" interactions in CNS modulates compensation and adaptation processes under chronic X-ray irradiation with a small dose of low intensity due to regulation of the free/bound heparansulphate correlation.

[Change in heparin-binding activity of rat brain proteins after single exposure to ionizing radiation at a dose of 0.25 Gr]. / Izmenenie geparin-sviazyvaiushchei aktivnosti belkov mozga krys posle odnokratnogo vozdeistviia ioniziruiushchego izlucheniia v doze 0.25 Gr.

Sex-dependent description of the total protein heparin-binding activity in different rat brain regions was established in experiment on white rats. In norm named parameter above in males, than in females on a 22%. The specific alteration of the total heparine-binding activity was found in cortex, cerebellum, middle brain, hippocampus, striatum and pons 1, 12, 24, 120 and 168 hours after whole body single exposure to ionizing radiation with a dose of 0.25 Gy. The most pronounced changes were typical for limbic system. In the cortex and cerebellum of males no significant changes of the activity were found. The data suggest that modification of the system of heparin/heparin-binding proteins, which takes part in regulation of the intercellular brain communication, occurs at early hours after exposure to ionizing radiation.

[Efferent methods in the therapy of puerperal and postoperative complications]. / Efferentnye metody terapii poslerodovykh i posleoperatsionnykh oslozhnenii.

Ninety-six patients with chorioamnionitis in labor were treated. Clinical observations and laboratory findings demonstrated high efficiency of multiple-modality treatment including use of efferent methods: plasmapheresis, incubation of cell mass with antibiotics, and ultra-violet exposure of the blood.

[Isolation and purification of a membrane hyaluronate-binding protein from embryonic human brain]. / Vydelenie i ochistka membrannogo gialuronatsviazyvaiushcego belka iz mozga émbrionov cheloveka.

A membrane hyaluronate-binding protein from cerebral cortex of human embryonic brain (22-24 weeks) was purified by affinity, ion exchange chromatographies and gel-filtration. While gel-filtration analysis the protein had Mm 250 kDa. Electrophoresis under reduction conditions in the presence of DS-Na revealed a major band with Mm 85 kDa and two minor binds with Mm 68 and 36 kDa. The isolated protein did not react with antibodies against known hyaluronate-binding and other proteins with similar mass. The results show that a new membrane hyaluronate-binding protein was isolated and purified from human embryonic brain.

Some morphological changes in the rat thyroid gland during experimental hyperphenylalaninemia.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the effect of phenylketonuria on the thyroid gland. In the present study, this problem was investigated by using a defined experimental model of hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA). METHODS: The experimental group was subjected to an HPA regimen (Matsuo and Hommes, 1988. Neurochem. Res., 13:867-870) from the 5th day of postnatal development. The pups were decapitated on the 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and 35th days. The thyroid glands were fixed in Bouin's fluid and routinely embedded in paraffin. The staining techniques used were Mallory-Slinchenko's method, toluidin blue, silver impregnation of the basement membrane, immunohistochemical staining of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and neuron-specific enolase (NSE). RESULTS: The size of the follicles was less than that in the control group. There were no substantial changes in the epitheliomer structures. In almost all of the treated groups, a reduction in the number of PCNA+, NSE+, and mast cells was observed until the 28th day. On the 28th day of HPA, the level of mast cell degranulation was higher (61%) than that in the control group. On the 35th day, these parameters began to reach normal levels. From the 28th day, degenerative changes in the thyroid glands of treated animals were observed in the NSE+ cells. CONCLUSIONS: The HPA condition mainly has an influence on the number and structure of the NSE+ cells of the thyroid gland. One may assume that under HPA the increase in mast cell degranulation plays a significant role in the normalisation of the parameter of the thyroid gland.

Effect of experimental hyperphenylalaninemia on the postnatal rat brain.

The molecular mechanism of the disturbance of brain development caused by phenylketonuria remains mostly unknown. We have studied three molecular markers that reflect the development of neurons, glia and the extracellular matrix of the postnatal rat brain in an animal model of hyperphenylalaninemia, in order to elucidate the possible mechanism by which increased phenylalanine influences brain development. The content of NCAM, GFAP and hyaluronate-binding activity were compared in cerebellum and telencephalon of normal rats and those subjected to high phenylalanine. No statistically significant changes were found in telencephalon when experimental animals were compared to controls. In the hyperphenylalaninemic cerebellum, the developmental dynamic of NCAM content (represented by two peaks at about postnatal days 5 and 22 during normal development) is dramatically altered. The GFAP content in the cerebellum of treated rats exceeded those in controls significantly during late developmental stages (postnatal days 28-35). Hyaluronate-binding activity in the extracellular protein fraction from treated rat cerebellum was increased compared to normal rat at the early stages of development only (postnatal day 7). These results suggest that high serum phenylalanine may lead to permanent brain dysfunction through a disturbance of a wide range of developmental events.

Neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) distribution may predict the effect of neurotoxins on the brain.

The neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) is a convenient neurospecific marker for investigating the effects of neurotoxins on cell migration, cell recognition and differentiation of neurons during development. In this report, we discuss the developmental toxicity of valproic acid studied by two different approaches (the immunochemical detection of N-CAM content and polypeptide composition, and immunohistochemical analysis of N-CAM topography). Immunohistochemical analysis of distribution of N-CAM as a surface marker on the neural cells predicted the effect of the neurotoxin.

[The effect of low doses of ionizing radiation on the intermediate filaments and the Ca2+-activated proteolysis system in the rat brain]. / Vliianie malykh doz ioniziruiushchei radiatsii na promezhutochnye filamenty i Ca2+-aktiviruemuiu sistemy proteoliza golovnogo mozga krysy.

The immunochemical methods were used to study the effect of low-level radiation (0.00645 C/kg and 0.0129 C/kg) on the content and polypeptide composition of glial intermediate filament proteins (GIFP) in different rat brain areas. Changes in glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP) concentration were more significant with the dose of 0.0129 C/kg than 0.00645 C/kg. It is suggested that soluble GIFP is more susceptible to the effect of Ca(2+)-dependent proteinases, calpains, than the filament one is, and degrades as early as the first few hours following irradiation. However, low radiation doses were ineffective with respect to calpains activity in the animal brain. The increased Ca2+ concentration enhances considerably GFAP degradation under the effect of calpains I and II. It is suggested that with low radiation doses the rearrangements of glial intermediate filaments may occur due to activation of calpains by releasing Ca ions.

[Phantom research in the individual dosimetric planning of the intracavity irradiation of uterine cancer patients]. / Fantomnye issledovaniia v individual'nom dozimetricheskom planirovanii vnutripolostnogo oblucheniia bol'nykh rakom matki.

The paper is concerned with the results of dose measurements on a uterine phantom under the conditions close to those of the practice of radiotherapy of endometrial cancer patients using the AGAT-B unit. Comparison of experimental and rated dose values made it possible to find points of particular clinical alertness as well as a point of the control of accuracy of dose formation during a radiotherapeutic session.

[The optimization of the dosimetric plan in the intracavity radiotherapy of patients with cancer of the corpus uteri]. / Optimizatsiia dozimetricheskogo plana pri vnutripolostnoi luchevoi terapii bol'nykh rakom tela matki.

The potentialities of mathematical optimization were investigated with respect to dosimetric design of radiation therapy of endometrial cancer patients using AGAT-V and AGAT-VU [correction of Agat-B and Agat-Y] apparatus. The effectiveness of linear programming for creating in a pathological focus and in normal tissues of a dose distribution, meeting clinical requirements to the maximum, was shown.

[Use of optimizing programs of dosimetric planning in radiotherapy of gynecologic cancer]. / Ispol'zovanie optimiziruiushchikh programm dozimetricheskogo planirovaniia luchevoi terapii v onkoginekologii.

Radiation treatment of cervical and uterine cancer (intracavitary and combined irradiation using the ATAT-B, Rokus and 15M1 accelerator) is discussed to illustrate the effectiveness of mathematic procedures for choosing optimal dose regimens to suit for the anatomic peculiarities of a patient and the clinical setting.

[Characteristics of concanavalin A-binding neurospecific glycoproteins from various regions of the rat brain during experimental neurosis]. / Kharakteristika konkanavalin-A-sviazyvaiushchikh neirospetsificheskikh glikoproteinov v razlichnykh otdelakh golovnogo mozga krys pri éksperimental'nom nevroze.

The polypeptide composition of neurospecific glycoproteins in different areas of the rat brain under experimental neurosis is characterized using SDS-PAG-electrophoresis followed by electroblot and immunofixation on nitrocellulose membranes. The soluble and membrane-bound glycoproteins are purified by Con A-Sepharose column chromatography. Changes in the glycoprotein polypeptide composition in different areas of the rat brain under experimental neurosis are qualitative. Soluble glycopolypeptide 27 kDa and membrane glycopolypeptide 32 kDa are not revealed in the midbrain and corpus striatum. Soluble polypeptide 47 kDa is absent in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. It is suggested that the above mentioned glycopolypeptides are important for the CNS physiological functioning.

[Individualization of the dosimetric requirements of intracavitary irradiation in the radiotherapy of gynecologic patients]. / Individualizatsiia dozimetricheskogo obespecheniia vnutripolostnogo oblucheniia pri luchevoi terapii ginekologicheskikh bol'nykh.

The authors proposed a method of dosimetric planning in intracavitary irradiation taking into account the individual features of a patient, including the status of the uterus during the introduction of radiation sources into its cavity. To simulate the dynamics of a resultant uterus shift a special device was developed to obtain information required for individual planning. The proposed method is aimed at the prevention of undesirable radiation reactions and complications in healthy organs.

[Dosimetric planning in the radiation therapy of patients with cancer of the corpus uteri]. / Dozimetricheskoe planirovanie pri luchevoi terapii bol'nykh rakom tela matki.

The paper deals with application of computerized procedures for dose planning in intracavitary irradiation of endometrial carcinoma from the Agat-B source. Computer calculations of dosage measured at some basic points of reference as well as dose distribution in different schedules of multipositional irradiation of carcinoma are presented. Lateral position of single-source applicators and central position of a 4-5 source applicator proved to offer most advantage. Radiobiologic aspects of planning radiation treatment for endometrial carcinoma versus dose rate in application of three-position technique of intracavitary irradiation are discussed.