The Effect of Ionizing Radiation on Cognitive Functions in Mouse Models of Alzheimer's Disease.

The present study demonstrates the effect of combined ionizing radiation (γ rays, 0.24 Gy, 661.7 keV, whole body and 12C, 0.18 Gy, 450 MeV, head region) on the behavior of animals in mouse transgenic models of Alzheimer's disease. Significant improvement of spatial learning and stimulation of locomotor and exploratory behavior were observed in wild-type mice after irradiation. However, an anxiolytic effect and stimulation of locomotor and exploratory behavior were revealed in irradiated mice with tauopathy. Mice with cerebral amyloidosis also exhibited improved learning in the odor recognition test. No negative effects of irradiation were detected.

[Dimebon delays the onset of symptoms of FUS-proteinopathy in transgenic mice]. / Otsrochennyi debiut simptomaticheskoi stadii FUS-proteinopatii u transgennykh myshei pod deistviem dimebona.

AIM: To evaluate an effect of dimebon on the onset of symptomatic stage in FUS.1-513 transgenic mice - a new genetic model of neurodegeneration, and to study the dynamics of disease progression in the terminal stage. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was carried out on males of line FUS1-513 with the contribution of genes from CD1 strains. Mice of the experimental group (n=28) received dimebon with water in the concentration of 70 mcg/ml starting from the 35th day of life. The control group (n=25) did not receive the drug. Age, body mass of animals at the start of symptomatic stage and duration of symptomatic stage were assessed. RESULTS: Application of dimebon can delay the onset of the manifestation of clinical symptoms of the neurodegenerative process in the experimental group (127.6±4.6 days) compared to the control group (110.6±4.2 days). The body mass was similar in both groups. CONCLUSION: Dimebon leads to an increase in the duration of presymptomatic stage and delays the manifestation of clinical symptoms. The changes in the dynamics of the pathological process in the symptomatic stage are not detected.

[The heteroplasmy level of some mutations in gene MT-CYB among women with asymptomatic atherosclerosis].

Atherosclerosis is a polygenic socially significant disease whose risk factors include coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and myocardial infarction. According to the literature, mutations m.14846G>A (G34S), m.15762G>A (G339Q), m.15084G>A (W113Ter), and m.15059G>A (G190Ter) of cytochrome B gene (MT-CYB) are associated with mitochondrial myopathies, myoglobinuria, and exercise intolerance. Preliminary studies carried out by the authors made it possible to discover an association of certain mitochondrial genome mutations with atherosclerotic lesions of aortic intima in people who died as a result of an accident or sudden death. The most interesting seemed to be the data on the association of mutations m.14846G>A and m.15059G>A of the cytochrome B gene with lipofibrous aortic plaques, because these mutations affect the mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme. Defects in the given chain may be the reason for the launch of pathogenic mechanisms in the human body. Owing to the fact that mutations in the mitochondrial genome are inherited by the maternal type, it was decided to analyze cytochrome B gene mutations in a sample of female volunteers from Moscow oblast. According to the findings, mutations m.14846G>A and m.15059G>A are highly significantly associated with atherosclerotic lesions of the carotid arteries: m.14846G>A is antiatherogenic and m.15059G>A is proatherogenic.