Characterization of Risk Factors for Modeling of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Induced by a High-Fat Diet in C57BL/6 Mice.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus develops due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. C57BL/6 mice prone to obesity and leptin resistance were kept on a high-fat diet for 21 weeks. The animals showed a significant increase in fasting and postprandial glucose levels and body weight, the development of insulin resistance, and by week 18, an increase in the serum TNFα level. Metformin therapy at a dose of 250 mg/kg was effective against the background of disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism: animals showed a significant decrease in insulin resistance and TNFα level.

Selective targeting of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor by synthetic peptide mimicking loop I of human SLURP-1 provides efficient and prolonged therapy of epidermoid carcinoma in vivo.

α7-Type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) promotes the growth and metastasis of solid tumors. Secreted Ly6/uPAR-Related Protein 1 (SLURP-1) is a specific negative modulator of α7-nAChR produced by epithelial cells. Here, we investigated mechanisms of antiproliferative activity of recombinant SLURP-1 in epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells and activity of SLURP-1 and synthetic 21 a.a. peptide mimicking its loop I (Oncotag) in a xenograft mice model of epidermoid carcinoma. SLURP-1 inhibited the mitogenic pathways and transcription factors in A431 cells, and its antiproliferative activity depended on α7-nAChR. Intravenous treatment of mice with SLURP-1 or Oncotag for 10 days suppressed the tumor growth and metastasis and induced sustained changes in gene and microRNA expression in the tumors. Both SLURP-1 and Oncotag demonstrated no acute toxicity. Surprisingly, Oncotag led to a longer suppression of pro-oncogenic signaling and downregulated expression of pro-oncogenic miR-221 and upregulated expression of KLF4 protein responsible for control of cell differentiation. Affinity purification revealed SLURP-1 interactions with both α7-nAChR and EGFR and selective Oncotag interaction with α7-nAChR. Thus, the selective inhibition of α7-nAChRs by drugs based on Oncotag may be a promising strategy for cancer therapy.

Modeling of Chronic Lung Inflammation in Rats by Repeated Intratracheal Administration of LPS.

A model of a chronic lung inflammation in SPF Sprague-Dawley rats was developed by repeated intratracheal administration of LPS in a dose of 0.4 mg/kg. On day 22 of the study, male rats treated with LPS have relative monocytopenia and reduced mean concentration of hemoglobin in the erythrocyte and the mean platelet volume in comparison with the control animals (saline). Intratracheal administration of LPS induced an inflammatory process in the lungs characterized by focal atelectasis, compensatory emphysematous expansion of subpleural pulmonary acini, focal mononuclear and neutrophilic perivascular and peribronchial infiltration, and minor focal mononuclear and neutrophilic infiltration of the alveolar walls. Against the background of LPS administration, germinal centers appeared in the lymphoid follicles of the white pulp of the spleen, and focal mononuclear infiltration of the tracheal mucosa and/or submucosa was observed in some animals.

Taxifolin Reduces Blood Pressure in Elderly Hypertensive Male Wistar Rats.

Male Wistar rats aged 10 months were assigned to groups according to the initial level of systolic BP: hypertensive (systolic BP >115 mm Hg) and normotensive (systolic BP <115 mm Hg). The animals were injected intraperitoneally with 100 µg/kg taxifolin daily for 7 days. Systolic BP and HR were measured on the next day after single taxifolin administration and on the next day after 7-day injection course. In the group of hypertensive animals, systolic BP markedly decreased on the next day after the first injection; this decrease became even more pronounced (to the level of normotensive animals) at the end of the taxifolin course. In the group of normotensive animals, systolic BP remained unchanged. Hence, we demonstrate the possibility of course administration of taxifolin for BP normalization in hypertensive patients.

Blood Pressure Changes After Exposures Increasing Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Activity and After Its Normalization with Dihydroquercetin in Male Wistar Rats.

Changes in BP and HR were assessed after exposures increasing activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme: ionizing radiation, NO synthase inhibitor (L-NAME), and dexamethasone. Effects of dihydroquercetin and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril on activity of this enzyme, BP, and HR were also evaluated under these exposures. Wistar male rats were subjected to X-ray irradiation in a dose of 2.5 Gy. Angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in the aorta sections was determined by Hip-His-Leu hydrolysis. BP and HR were recorded using a non-invasive tail-cuff method and PowerLab 8/35 software. BP and HR were not altered with the increase in activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme after irradiation. In case of prolonged (7 days) treatment with NO synthase inhibitor and dexamethasone, the increase in enzyme activity was accompanied by elevation of BP and, in the case of NO synthase inhibitor, HR reduction. Dihydroquercetin normalized the enzyme activity and lowered BP, but not to the normal level. Enalapril normalized BP, increased by NO synthase inhibitor solution intake; at the same time, the angiotensinconverting enzyme activity decreased more than 2-fold in comparison with the normal.

Dihydroquercetin Does Not Affect Age-Dependent Increase in Blood Pressure and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Activity in the Aorta of Hypertensive Rats.

We analyzed changes in angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in the aorta of hypertensive SHR rats against the background of age-related BP increase (from week 7 to 14) and the effect of dihydroquercetin on BP rise and angiotensin-converting enzyme activity. Normotensive WKY rats of the same age were used as the control. BP and activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme in the aorta of SHR rats increased with age. Dihydroquercetin in doses of 100 and 300 µg/kg per day had no effect on the increase of these parameters; dihydroquercetin administered to 14-week-old WKY rats in a dose of 300 µg/kg reduced activity of the angiotensin-converting enzyme. Thus, the early (7-14 weeks) increase in BP and angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in the aorta of SHR rats was not modified by flavonoids (dihydroquercetin) in contrast to other rat strains and humans, which is indicative of specificity of hypertension mechanism in SHR rats.

Improvement of cardiac contractile function in rats with postinfarction cardiosclerosis after transplantation of mononuclear and multipotent stroma bone marrow cells.

We compared the efficiency of autologous mononuclear cells and multipotent stromal cells of the bone marrow after their non-selective intracoronary transplantation on day 30 after acute coronary infarction in rats. Improvement of hemodynamic parameters of myocardial contractility (rates of left ventricular pressure rise and drop) in comparison with the initial values and deceleration of postinfarction prolongation of QRS and QT intervals were observed in rats of the experimental group in contrast to controls in 4 weeks after transplantation. These functional changes were more intensive after transplantation of multipotent stromal cells and were accompanied by more pronounced morphological signs of reverse myocardial remodeling: thickening of the scarred left ventricular wall, shrinkage of the scar, and decrease in left ventricular dilatation index.

Reparation of the myocardium after transplantation of mononuclear bone marrow cells.

Safety and efficiency of intracoronary transventricular transplantation of autologous mononuclear bone marrow cells in rats with postinfarction cardiosclerosis were studied. The cells migrated to the damaged area and were detected only in the cicatricial tissue; they have fibroblast-like phenotype and some of them were stained with Fapα (marker of reactive fibroblasts). More active proliferation of non-muscular cells and formation and maturation of collagen fibers in the cicatricial tissue were observed after transplantation of mononuclear cells. This led to thickening of the cicatricial wall, but the size of the scar and index of dilatation of the left ventricle remained unchanged. The number and volume density of newly formed blood vessels in the damaged area increased after transplantation, but no labeled cells were seen in the vascular walls. It can be hypothesized that stimulation of neoangiogenesis is mediated by paracrine mechanisms, which also explains improvement of global contractility of the left ventricle (increased contractility index in functional tests). Thus, transplantation of mononuclear bone marrow cells leads to thickening and strengthening of the cicatricial wall, stimulates angiogenesis, and improves global myocardial contractility. However, no morphological signs of reverse remodeling of the left-ventricular myocardium were revealed.

[Effect of the recombinant human heat shock protein HSP70 on the biochemical properties of blood in a model of endotoxic shock in rats].

The protective effects of 70-kDa heat shock proteins (HSP70) were studied following the intravenous administration in rats with endotoxic shock. The antitoxic effects of both bovine HSP70 (bHSP70) and human recombinant HSP70 (hrHSP70) were compared. The preventive uptake of HSP70 decreased the toxic influence of the E. coll endotoxin on the rats' bodies and significantly increased the survival of the animals during the experiment.

Directions of migration of bone marrow mononuclears after intracoronary transventricular injection.

Directions of migration of mononuclear bone marrow cells after intracoronary transventricular injection procedure developed by us were experimentally studied. After nonselective injection of cells into the right and left coronary arteries in rats, the labeled cells were detected only in the damaged zone of the myocardium. Localization of transplanted mononuclears in the scar attests to their homing into the damaged zone. Numerous cells were found in the red pulp of the spleen and solitary cells were detected in the liver and lungs. In the heart, the labeled transplanted cells were detected only in the scar zone at all terms of the study; they were not incorporated into the vascular walls, but were surrounded by thick bundles of collagen fibers and probably underwent differentiation into fibroblasts. No data on possible differentiation of the transplanted cells into vascular cells or cardiomyocytes were obtained.