Efficacy of Inhalations of Antituberculous Compositions with Different Length of Experimental Therapy Course in Mice.

The study compared antituberculous efficacy of individual or combined administration of "free" isoniazid and liposomal form of dextrazide (a composition consisted of isoniazid and oxidized dextran) inhaled in standard (15 mg/kg) or low (3 mg/kg) dose. The therapy started 1 month after contamination of outbred ICR male mice with Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv. Combined inhalation of liposomal form of dextrazide and isoniazid in the low dose was most effective against mycobacterium tuberculosis due to diminished prodestructive pulmonary effect and a low hepatotoxicity. A minor prodestructive effect of this combination was observed starting from 1.5 month after the onset of therapy (12 inhalations, 2 times a week), and it augmented after 24 inhalations administered during 3 months.

Structural Changes in the Lungs and Liver of Mice with Experimental Tuberculosis Treated with Liposome-Encapsulated Dextrazide.

Male BALB/с mice were intravenously infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (0.5 ml of 2-week culture). One month later, treatment with liposome-encapsulated dextrazide (LEDZ, a conjugate of isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH) and 40 kDa oxidized dextran encapsulated in phosphatidylcholine liposomes), INH, or a combination of LEDZ with INH was started. The doses of LEDZ (liposome suspension) and INH were 0.025 ml/10 g body weight and 5 mg/kg body weight, respectively. All the substances were administered 2 times a week via inhalation or intraperitoneally (a total of 40 doses). We studied the number and the size of tuberculous granulomas, the size of destruction foci and inflammatory infiltrates in the lungs and liver, the amount of fibrous connective tissue, and the dynamic of these parameters. LEDZ+INH inhalations were most effective by the therapeutic ratios in comparison with inhalation and intraperitoneal injections of INH.

Synthetic Phenolic Antioxidant TS-13 Suppresses the Growth of Lewis Lung Carcinoma and Potentiates Oncolytic Effect of Doxorubicin.

ROS are important intracellular messengers; their ambiguous role in malignant processes was demonstrated in many studies. The effects of a synthetic phenolic antioxidant sodium 3-(3'-tert-butyl-4'-hydroxyphenyl)propyl thiosulfonate sodium (TS-13) on the tumor growth and oncolytic properties of doxorubicin were studied in the experimental model of Lewis lung carcinoma in mice. In mice receiving TS-13 with drinking water (100 mg/kg), suppression of tumor growth by 32.3% was observed on day 21 after inoculation of Lewis lung carcinoma cells. Two-fold intraperitoneal injections of doxorubicin in a cumulative dose of 8 mg/kg were followed by inhibition of tumor growth by 49.5%. Combined treatment with TS-13 and doxorubicin suppressed the tumor growth by 55.4%. In contrast to doxorubicin, TS-13 inhibited NO generation by peritoneal macrophages. The results show the prospect of studying TS-13 in the context of overcoming drug-resistance of tumors.

Death Mechanisms of Pulmonary Alveolocytes in Mice Infected with Influenza Viruses A/H1N1/California/04/2009 and A/H5N1/Goose/Krasnoozerskoye/627/05.

In CBA mice infected with influenza viruses A/H1N1/California/04/2009 and A/H5N1/Goose/Krasnoozerskoye/627/05 in a dose of 10 MLD50, the mechanisms of death of pulmonary alveolocytes over 10 postinfection days were studied by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and morphometry. In mice infected with A/H1N1, alveolocytes died predominantly via necrosis, while apoptosis mostly employed the mitochondrial pathway. In mice infected with A/H5N1, apoptosis was the dominant mechanism of alveolocyte death proceeded via membrane receptor signaling followed by switching to FAS-mediated pathway via activation of FADD, the apoptotic signal transduction protein.

Changes in the Structure of Mouse Kidney in the Acute Period after Infection with Influenza Viruses A/H5N1 and A/H1N1.

Changes in the kidney structure in outbred and inbred male BALB/c mice were analyzed in the acute period after infection with influenza viruses A/H5N1 (10 MLD50; 10 days) and A/H1N1 (1 MLD50; 30 days). Antibodies to influenza viruses of both strains were most often expressed by endothelial cells of the glomeruli and arterioles and were rarely expressed by mesangiocytes and tubule epithelial cells. In the kidney, destructive processes induced by viruses and by ischemia due to massive blood vessel thrombosis. Mesangiocytes expressed factors, indicating that they could be qualified as M1 and M2 macrophages. Kidney destruction was more significant after infection of mice with the A/H5N1 virus, but in both experiments cell infiltrates were actually absent, probably due to blood vessel thrombosis and limited possibility of migration of mononuclear phagocytes and lymphocytes to the kidney.

Cell Death and Development of Fibrotic Alterations in Lung Granuloma of BALB/c Mice during Chronic BCG-Induced Granulomatosis.

Light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and morphometric examinations established that cell death in lung granulomas of BCG-infected mice resulted mainly from activation of receptor-mediated apoptosis, which did not prevent the persistence of the causative agent in macrophages of the granulomas and promoted the formation of pronounced fibrosis in granulomas and pulmonary interstitium.

Preventive Effects of Oxidized Dextran on Functional Activity of Pulmonary Macrophages in Mice Infected with Influenza A Virus.

We analyzed cytokine profile of pulmonary macrophages in mice infected with highly pathogenic influenza A/H5N1 virus after preventive injections of oxidized dextran. Light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and morphometric examinations showed that preventive injections of oxidized dextran led to more effective virus elimination, modulation of the proinflammatory cytokine response, and host antiviral response and reduce animal mortality. Our findings allow recommending oxidized dextran for further studies in order to create a vaccine with antiviral and adjuvant potencies.

Secretion of Thioredoxin Peroxidase Protein of Cat Liver Fluke Opisthorchis felineus during Modeling of Experimental Opisthorchiasis.

Mechanisms of thioredoxin peroxidase secretion by Opisthorchis felineus were studied in vivo and in vitro. Specific antibodies were obtained and used for western blotting and immunohistochemical detection in Syrian hamster model of opisthorchiasis. Secreted thioredoxin peroxidase protein was accumulated in the worm incubation medium under conditions of oxidative stress and in bile duct cells of hamsters with chronic opisthorchiasis.

Study of SMAD-Dependent Signal Pathway in the Development of Early Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice Infected with Influenza A/H1N1 Virus.

Early fibrosis of the visceral organs is one of the main complications of infection caused by influenza A virus. Structural manifestations and molecular regulators of the epithelialmesenchymal transformation as a possible mechanism of fibrosis progression were studied in mice infected with influenza A/H1N1 A/Tomsk/13/2010 virus. We found early fibrosis of the lungs against the background of minor changes in fibroblast count. However, enhanced expression of TGF-ß and SMAD-2 by macrophages and alveolocytes attested to possible development of epithelial-mesenchymal transformation and its contribution to activation of fibrogenesis process in the lungs.

Studies of Influenza A/H1N1 A/Tomsk/13/2010 Virus Topology during Development of Infectious Process in Mammals.

Influenza A/H1N1 A/Tomsk/13/2010 virus registered in Siberia in 2010 proved to be an extremely pathogenic strain. Dynamic study of the topology of this influenza virus strain in the lungs, liver, kidneys, lymph nodes, and great vessels of infected mice was carried out. Influenza A virus was detected by immunohistochemical methods in cells of different histogenesis in all the studied organs throughout the observation period (days 1-30 postinfection), which indicated effective replication and long persistence of influenza A/H1N1 A/Tomsk/13/2010 virus in mammalian cells.

Expression of profibrotic growth factors and their receptors by mouse lung macrophages and fibroblasts under conditions of acute viral inflammation in influenza A/H5N1 virus.

Morphological signs of early interstitial fibrosis, developing under conditions of acute viral inflammation (postinfection days 1-14), were observed in C57Bl/6 mice infected with influenza A/H5N1 A/goose/Krasnoozerskoye/627/05 virus. The development of fibrosis was confirmed by an increase in the number of lung cells expressing TNF-α. These changes were recorded in the presence of a many-fold increase in the counts of macrophages and fibroblasts expressing FGF, EGF, and their receptors.

Morphofunctional changes in the lung vascular endotheliocytes in mice with influenza A/H5N1 A/Goose/Krasnoozerskoye/627/05.

The lung vessels of male C57Bl/6 mice were studied by immunohistochemical and stereometric methods on days 1, 3, 6, and 10 after intranasal infection with influenza A/H5N1 A/Goose/Krasnoozerskoye/627/05 virus. Influenza virus replicates in mouse lung vascular endotheliocytes and persists in these cells until the beginning of convalescence (day 10 after infection). This indicates high pathogenic activity of this strain. Active proliferation and apoptosis of endotheliocytes are detected early after infection; the counts of endotheliocytes expressing lysosomal hydrolases and NO-synthases increase many-fold.

Structural and functional changes in pulmonary macrophages and lungs of mice infected with influenza virus A/H5N1 A/goose/Krasnoozerskoye/627/05.

C57Bl/6 mice were intranasally infected with influenza virus A/H5N1 A/goose/Krasnoozerskoye/627/05. The mortality rate of animals reached 70% on day 14 of the disease. The lungs of animals were characterized by necroses, destruction of vessels, hemorrhagic and thrombotic complications, edematous syndrome, and early fibrosis of the interstitium. On days 6-10 after infection, fibrosis was found in the zones of postnecrotic inflammatory infiltration. The expression of lysozyme and myeloperoxidase by pulmonary macrophages was initially increased, but decreased on day 10 of the study. The number of cathepsin D-expressing macrophages was elevated up to the 10th day of examination.

Expression of heparanase-1 in prostate gland tumors.

Expression of heparanase-1 in prostate tumors was evaluated by RT-PCR, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry. Malignant transformation was shown to be associated with considerable increase in the expression of heparanase-1 at both mRNA and protein levels, which correlated with the degree of metastasizing and can be used as the marker for diagnostics of the metastatic process.