Comparative study of biochemical and morphological parameters in rats with Walker 256 and Walker 256/DOX carcinosarcoma.

AIM: To evaluate the changes of some biochemical blood plasma parameters and morphological structure of the internal organs of rats with transplanted doxorubicin (DOX)-sensitive (Walker 256) and doxorubicin-resistant (Walker 256/DOX) strains of Walker 256 carcinosarcoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was performed on female Wistar rats with transplanted Walker 256 or Walker 256/DOX and intact animals (control). On the 9th day after transplantation of tumor cells, a comparative analysis of some blood plasma biochemical parameters and morphological examination of the liver, kidneys, myocardium and spleen of rats was carried out. RESULTS: Walker 256 growth, in comparison with Walker 256/DOX, is accompanied by more pronounced systemic effect on tumor-bearing rats. Uric acid concentration in the blood plasma of Walker 256 bearing rats was significantly (by 15.5%) higher than in Walker 256/DOX bearing rats. Aspartate aminotransferase activity in the Walker 256 group was significantly (by 107.2%) higher than in Walker 256/DOX group, but alanine aminotransferase activity was 58.5% lower. 56.7% decrease of alkaline phosphatase in rats with Walker 256, and 21% increase of this index in rats with Walker 256/DOX were observed. The growth of Walker 256 carcinosarcoma led to greater structural damage of the liver, kidneys and spleen in experimental animals compared with Walker 256/DOX strain. CONCLUSION: Tumor growth in rats with Walker 256/DOX leads to less pronounced changes in the biochemical parameters of rat blood plasma and morphological structure of internal organs compared with wild-type carcinosarcoma.

COMPARISON OF SPECTROSCOPIC PROPERTIES OF INTRAOCULAR FLUID IN PATIENTS WITH CATARACT AND PRIMARY OPEN-ANGLE GLAUCOMA.

This paper presents a comparison ofspectroscopic properties of aqueous humour in patients with cataract (60 patients, 60 eyes) and combination of cataract and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG, 36 patients, 36 eyes). The samples of aqueous humour were collected during the surgery. Both groups of patients were treated with different types of local drug antihypertensive therapy with different multiplicity and duration of instillation during the preoperative period. The absorption spectrum of aqueous humour were measured in the wavelength range 190-1100 nm. There were two absorption bands with maximums at 202 and 267 nm in the absorption spectrum (2nd maximum of some samples was shifted to larger wavelengths). The mean absorbance of aqueous humour at 202 nm in patients without POAG was significantly lower than in patients with POAG. This difference could be explained with accumulation of metabolites in aqueous humour of patients with POAG, which in turn may be caused by deceleration of aqueous humour flow in patients with POAG. Meanwhile, there were no statistically significant differences of mean absorbance of aqueous humour at 267 nm between the patients of both groups.

Synoviocytes synthesize, bind, and respond to basic fibroblast growth factor.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic disease characterized by the destructive proliferation of synovial tissue. It has been suggested that this proliferative lesion resembles a malignancy. Although polypeptide growth factors have been implicated in malignant cell growth, their role in the pathogenesis of proliferative but non-neoplastic diseases such as RA has not been extensively studied. We tested the hypothesis that the synoviocyte itself may be a source of growth factor activity. We demonstrated that culture supernatants from synoviocytes obtained from patients with RA, osteoarthritis, and traumatic joint disease contain mitogenic activity. This activity has biologic properties identical to those of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Specifically, the mitogenic activity is synergistic with insulin and binds to heparin-agarose, but elutes with 2.0M NaCl. In addition, synoviocyte extracts contain a peptide with a molecular weight of approximately 16,000, which reacts with antibody specific for bFGF. Cultured synoviocytes express the bFGF gene, express receptors for bFGF, and proliferate in response to bFGF. We conclude that bFGF derived from the synoviocytes themselves may play a role in stimulating their proliferation in an autocrine manner in disease states such as RA.