Hydrogen Sulfide Ameliorates Developmental Impairments of Rat Offspring with Prenatal Hyperhomocysteinemia.

Maternal high levels of the redox active amino acid homocysteine-called hyperhomocysteinemia (hHCY)-can affect the health state of the progeny. The effects of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) treatment on rats with maternal hHCY remain unknown. In the present study, we characterized the physical development, reflex ontogeny, locomotion and exploratory activity, muscle strength, motor coordination, and brain redox state of pups with maternal hHCY and tested potential beneficial action of the H2S donor-sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS)-on these parameters. Our results indicate a significant decrease in litter size and body weight of pups from dams fed with methionine-rich diet. In hHCY pups, a delay in the formation of sensory-motor reflexes was observed. Locomotor activity tested in the open field by head rearings, crossed squares, and rearings of hHCY pups at all studied ages (P8, P16, and P26) was diminished. Exploratory activity was decreased, and emotionality was higher in rats with hHCY. Prenatal hHCY resulted in reduced muscle strength and motor coordination assessed by the paw grip endurance test and rotarod test. Remarkably, administration of NaHS to pregnant rats with hHCY prevented the observed deleterious effects of high homocysteine on fetus development. In rats with prenatal hHCY, the endogenous generation of H2S brain tissues was lower compared to control and NaHS administration restored the H2S level to control values. Moreover, using redox signaling assays, we found an increased level of malondialdehyde (MDA), the end product of lipid peroxidation, and decreased activity of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the brain tissues of rats of the hHCY group. Notably, NaHS treatment restored the level of MDA and the activity of SOD and GPx. Our data suggest that H2S has neuroprotective/antioxidant effects against homocysteine-induced neurotoxicity providing a potential strategy for the prevention of developmental impairments in newborns.

Spermine Induces Autophagy in Plants: Possible Role of NO and Reactive Oxygen Species.

This is the first study to show that polyamine spermine, a low-molecular-weight nitrogen-containing compound, can induce autophagy in plants. This process is accompanied by an increased generation of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide, which play a signal role and are required for triggering autophagy.

[Mitotic index of meristematic cells and root growth of Pisum sativum is affected by inositol cycle modulators].

Relationships between cell division and inositol cycle modulation caused by different effectors in roots of Pisum sativum were studied. Stimulation of the inositol cycle by myoinositol increased the mitotic index of meristematic cells and root length, while the inhibition of the cycle with Li+ and a heavy metal Gd3+ considerably decreased mitotic activity and growth. Exposure of roots to 10 mM CaCl2 and 15 mM myoinositol resulted in the accumulation of chromosome aberrations. Changes in the activity of inositol cycle are assumed to be involved in the root growth control.

[The adaptation of natural plant populations to chronic irradiation due to the accident at the Chernobyl Atomic Electric Power Station]. / Izuchenie adaptatsii prirodnykh populiatsii rastenii k khronicheskomu oblucheniiu, vyzvannomu avariei na Chernobyl'skoi AES.

The effects of plant seed additional irradiation in the 8th and 9th post-Chernobyl reproduction were studied by the test "chromosome aberrations in seedling root meristem". In most of plant species investigated, seeds developed in the radiocontaminated zone were more radiosensitive than those from the "clean" zone. This fact shows the lack of adaptation to chronic irradiation and the availability of the potential genetic lesions that are realized into mutations under the influence of extreme factors. The effects of seed additional irradiation in some plant species indicate an increase in plant radioresistance.