[Ultrastructural changes in the endocardium and endocrine cardiomyocytes in the wall of the left atrial appendage in patients with atrial fibrillation]. / Ul'trastrukturnye izmeneniya endokarda i endokrinnykh kardiomiotsitov v stenke levogo ushka bol'nykh s fibrillyatsiei predserdii.

OBJECTIVE: To study ultrastructural changes in endocardial tissues and endocrine cardiomyocytes of the left atrial appendage in patients with atrial fibrillation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Electron microscopy was used to examine the endocardium and endocrine cardiomyocytes of the left atrial appendage in 8 patients with long-standing paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation and in one patient with coronary heart disease without rhythm disturbance (a control group). RESULTS: The investigation revealed that all the patients with atrial fibrillation had similar ultrastructural changes in all endocardial layers and endocrine cardiomyocytes of the left atrial appendage. The endothelium showed massive desquamation of endothelial cells. Predominantly single sharply flattened cells and small cytoplasmic fragments remained on the endocardial surface. The latter devoid of endothelial coating was represented by subendothelial loose connective tissue with noticeable signs of edema. The latter was also observed in the dense fibrous connective tissue of the endocardium. The accumulation of large amounts of edema fluid in the subendothelium led to endothelial cell flattening and desquamation. There was no leukocytic infiltration in the tissue of the endocardium or fibrin and desquamated endothelial cell accumulation on its surface. The endocrine cardiomyocytes exhibited disorders as cytoplasmic swelling, complete or partial lysis (necrosis) of individual myofibrils, and lower levels of endocrine granules and their location near or in direct contact with the sarcolemma. CONCLUSION: The study has shown that long-standing atrial fibrillation deteriorates the main factors that determine normal endothelial function: edema in subendothelial tissue disrupts its interaction with endothelial cells and leads the latter to detach from the endocardium; ultrastructural changes in the endocrine cardiomyocytes that produce hormones can impair systemic blood pressure control and intracardiac hemodynamics.

[D-cells of the gastroenteropancreatic system: development, structure, function and regeneration (history and current state of the problem)].

The present review summarizes the literature data and the results of authors' own research on the development, structure, function and regeneration of D-endocrinocytes of gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) system. The history of the research of these cells is reviewed and its current state of the problem is discussed. The information on the difference of somatostatin-producing D-endocrinocytes from other types of endocrine cells of GAP system is presented, namely, the prevalence of these cells in all the organs of the digestive system (stomach, small and large intestine, pancreas) and other systems of the body, the peculiarities of their structure and regeneration in various species of vertebrate animals and humans in embryonic development, under conditions of normal functioning and in various types of pathology. On the basis of the data on the early differentiation of D-endocrinocytes and their secretion of hormones during embryonic development, structure, cytophysiology and relationships within the general endocrinocyte population, it is suggested that D-endocrinocytes play an important role in the morpho-functional state of GEP system.

[Efficacy of the infusion hepatotropic drug remaxol in the pathogenetic therapy for cirrhotic stage chronic viral hepatitides]. / Effektivnost' infuzionnogo gepatotropnogo preparata remaksol v patogeneticheskoi terapii khronicheskikh virusnykh gepatitov na tsirroticheskoi stadii.

AIM: To investigate the impact of therapy with the infusion hepatoprotector remaxol on liver function in cirrhosis in the outcome of chronic viral hepatitides (CVH): HCV, HBV, HCV+HBV, and HBV+HDV. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty-five patients aged 26 to 76 years, who had been diagnosed as having liver cirrhosis (LC) in the outcome of CVH: HCV, HBV, HCV+HBV, and HBV+HDV were examined. During infusion therapy, every day 32 cirrhotic patients in the outcome of CVH B or C received intravenous remaxol 400 ml in a jetwise manner once daily for 11 days. A comparison group comprised 33 patients with the similar condition who had intravenous ademetionine 400 mg in a jetwise fashion during infusion therapy with crystalloids (400 ml of isotonic sodium chloride solution, Ringer's solution) for 11 days. RESULTS: After an infusion therapy cycle, the study group patients were recorded to have more significantly reduced cytolytic and cholestatic parameters. The pronounced hepatotropic effect of the drug was confirmed by the rate of a decline in the average concentrations of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and total bilirubin. In the study group patients, the relative values of a decrease in the levels of these biochemical parameters were 29, 29, and 40% versus 15, 20, and 9% in the control patients. CONCLUSION: Infusion therapy with remaxol in the combination treatment of the patients with viral LC not only improves liver function (reduces the degree of cytolysis, cholestasis), but also exerts a cytoprotective effect on peripheral blood cells (leukocytes, lymphocytes, platelets).

[Interrelation of nuclear envelope with cell organelles in peritoneal cells during ontogenesist and in experimental pathology].

Visceral and parietal peritoneum was studied by electron microscopy in albino mice both in the process of ontogenesis and after its injury induced by the the intraperitoneal injection of 0.5% novocaine solution. It was shown that during the early stages of intrauterine development (Day 13) most of the mesotheliocytes and mesenchymal cells contained predominantly free ribosomes (polysomes) in their cytoplasm while other organelles were rare and were located near the nuclear envelope. Subsequently, the number of membranous organelles increased while that of polysomes decreased. One day after the injury of the mesothelium, undifferentiated mesotheliocytes containing numerous polysomes in their cytoplasm appeared at the margin of wound surface. In these cells the protrusion 9f membranes of nuclear envelope and their association with the membranous organelles (endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex, mitochondria) were detected. The observed interrelations between the nuclear envelope and the membranous cytoplasmic organelles is considered to be a possible way of their formation in the undifferentiated cells. Rare occurrence of this phenomenon in adults animals under the pathological condition and its absence during the physiological regeneration is considered as a manifestation of the law of histogenetic recapitulation.

[Regeneration of endocrine gastroenteropancreatic system in experimental and clinical pathology: concept development and current problems].

Literature review contains the literature data and the results of author's own investigations describing the coming into being and the development of the concepts on the regeneration of endocrine gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) system under the conditions of norm, experimental and clinical pathology. Data analysis permitted to reveal the similarities and differences in the course of this process in various organs of the digestive system. Endocrine GEP system renewal occurs at different levels of its organization. At the tissue level, the endocrine cells renewal occurs via the transformation of exocrine cells into the endocrine ones and as a result of differentiation from stem cells via the "agranular" cell stage which are precursors of the endocrine cells. This pathway of regeneration is the major one after the damage. Regeneration at cellular level occurs through mitotic division of the differentiated endocrine cells (early stage of regeneration) and as a result of the formation granules with different hormonal profile in D-cells. At the intracellular level, the regeneration is realized through the intracellular structure restoration after their damage induced by the increase of cell functional activity accompanied by degranulation and dystrophic changes development

[Cytotomy in multinucleated epithelial cells under experimental conditions].

Multinucleated cell (MNC) cytotomy was studied in the epithelia with different functions (lining and glandular). Methods of light and electron microscopy were used to study MNCs in parietal peritoneum mesothelium of albino mice and in acinar-insular ("mixed") pancreatic cells of albino rats. Mesothelium was studied in film preparations, in which cell boundaries were demonstrated by silver nitrate. "Mixed" cells were studied by electron microscopy. Mice were injected with 0.4% hydrochloric acid, while rats were administered 40% glucose solution. MNCs in the epithelia studied were shown to be divided into cell territories, each consisting of a nucleus surrounded by the cytoplasm. These territories differed from each other by their structure and, therefore, by their functions. The appearance of plasma membranes between these cytoplasmic areas separating them into mononuclear cells or smaller MNCs, is described.

[Cytogenetic disorders in the oral mucosa epitheliocytes of children and adolescents living in the areas with different degrees of environmental chemical pollution].

UNLABELLED: The frequency of micronuclei (MN) in the oral mucosal epitheliocytes, the health status, the environment, and living, upbringing, and education conditions were studied in 5-6-year-old children and 15-16-year-old adolescents living in Saint Petersburg. OBJECTIVE: to identify cytogenetic disorders in the somatic cells of the buccal epithelium in the children and adolescents residing in the areas with different degrees of toxic ambient air and soil pollution. METHODS: hygienic, sociological, mathematical-and-statistical, and cytogenetic (micronucleus test) studies. The method for studying the frequency of micronuclei in the buccal epithelial cells was used for the first time in the population-based studies to evaluate the cytogenetic effect of different levels of chemical ambient air and soil pollution. The genetic disorders have been identified in the somatic cells as the increased count of micronuclei-containing epitheliocytes, which characterize the adverse effect of the high content of toxicants in the air ground layer and soil, as well as a higher sensitivity to unfavorable exogenous factors in 5-6-year-old children, girls in particular.

[Ultrastructural changes and regeneration of the endocrine apparatus of the human gastric mucosal glandular epithelium in patients with chronic erosive gastritis].

The aim of this investigation was to study the structure and regeneration of the endocrine apparatus of the human gastric mucosal glandular epithelium. Using electron microscopy, the mucosal biopsy specimens obtained from 14 patients with chronic erosive Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis, were studied. The most pronounced changes were seen both in the numbers and ultrastructure of G- and P-endocrinocytes. The changes were detected in the nucleus structure, endocrine granule and polysome content, and he mitochondrial structure. The regeneration of the endocrine cells took place through the differentiation of the committed precursors via the "agranular" cell stage, transformation of the exocrine cells into the endocrine ones, and as a result of the formation of the epithelial cords on the erosion surfaces that consisted of the cells in diverse differentiation stages (from the undifferentiated to specialized cells of all the endocrine and exocrine types).

[Structural changes in the rat intestinal wall during starvation].

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of starvation on all the tunics of duodenum and rectum wall. The animals were 20 outbred albino rats; the control group comprised 4 animals. The animals were starved while the drinking regime remained unchanged. Material was obtained at days 3 and 6 of starvation and was studied using electron microscopy. The changes were detected in the structure of mucosa, submucosa, tunica muscularis and serosa. These structural changes were of similar nature in all the tunics and differed only by the degree of their severity. The most pronounced changes were observed in all the epithelial cell types (absorbing, goblet and endocrine) in both parts of the intestine. These included cell flattening, microvilli reduction and deformation, mucus production disturbances, destructive changes in the mitochondria (swelling, cristae reduction, vacuoles and myelin-like structures formation, disruption of both mitochondrial membranes).

[Association of the morphological features of gastric parietal cells with the concentration of H+/K+/ATPase autoantibodies in chronic gastrititis].

Chronic gastritis was morphologically verified in 119 patients. The count of parietal cells per 100 epitheliocytes of fundic glands was estimated. The sizes of parietal cells were measured by the morphometric computer program Videotest. For the diagnosis of autoimmune chronic gastritis (ACG), the level of antibodies to H+K+ATPase of gastric parietal cells in the patients' serum was determined by enzyme immunoassay. Childhood ACG has been found to be characterized by hyperplasia and structural changes of parietal cells with their preserved total count. The specific features of adult ACG include a significant reduction in the number of parietal cells, their sizes depending on the level of antiparietal autoantibodies, and marked ultrastructural changes as impairments in the differentiation and destruction of cytoplasm, organelles, and cell membrane.

[Structure-functional changes in the rat pancreas after glucose injection].

Electron microscopic method was used to study the effect of hyperglycemia on the pancreas of albino rats (n = 20) after intraperitoneal administration of 40% glucose solution (daily, for 5 days). The data obtained suggest that repeated administration of glucose was accompanied by marked changes in the structure B-endocrinocytes, indicative of the increased secretion of the insulin. This resulted in the appearance of new small pancreatic islets, that consisted of B-endocrinocytes and acino-insular cells. Most frequently acinar-insular cells were located at the periphery of newly formed islets. The latter often had a symplast-type structural organization.

[Ultrastructure of endocrine cells in the dog pancreas].

Electron microscopy was used to study the cellular composition of dog pancreatic islets. Four types of endocrine cells were detected: A, B, D and PP. B cells were the predominant population within the islets. Differences in cellular organization of A and B cells were shown to be caused by the phases of the process of hormone synthesis. Insulin-containing secretory granules in B cells had a crystalloid structure, similar to that in B granules of insulin-containing cells in human pancreatic islets. In the exocrine portion of the pancreas, acino-insular cells were detected that simultaneously contained B granules and zymogen granules in their cytoplasm. It is suggested, that their presence is indicative of one of possible directions of pancreatic islet regeneration.

Cholesterol accumulation in plasma membrane and changes of membrane enzyme activity of Acholeplasma laidlawii cells during culture ageing.

The data presented in this report show that the microviscosity of the plasma membrane and the cholesterol/phospholipid molar ratio of its lipid bilayer increases during ageing of Acholeplasma laidawii cultures. At the same time the age changes of other lipid components content do not correlate with the change of membrane viscosity. It is also shown that membrane enzyme activities of mycoplasma cell decrease with age. These results confirm the membrane hypothesis of ageing according to which increased microviscosity is the essential factor of cell ageing.

[Features of expression of the pertussis toxin operon under the control of its own and heterologous promotors in Bordetella bronchiseptica cells]. / Osobennosti ékspressii operona kokliushnogo toksina pod kontrolem sobstvennogo i geterologichnogo promotorov v kletkakh Bordetella bronchiseptica.

Expression of the cloned operon encoding the pertussis toxin synthesis under the control of operons own vir-dependent promoter or vir-independent promoter of Escherichia coli origin was studied. Proteins produced by the recombinant strains have been characterized. The pertussis toxin operon was shown to express under the control of both homologous and heterologous promoters in Bordetella bronchiseptica cells. Use of the lac-promoter increases the yield of produced toxin twofold. Copy number of operon in the cell does not influence the level of toxin production. The synthesized protein can be transported into the culture medium. The biological and physico-chemical properties of the protein are similar to the ones of the natural pertussis toxin. Bordetella bronchiseptica strain producing the toxin with decreased toxic activity has been obtained. Thus, a simple system for cellular expression of the toxin operon was constructed in Bordetella bronchiseptica. It permits one to construct new strains producing nontoxic derivatives of the pertussis toxin for construction of nonreactogenic vaccines.

[Microscopic organization of epithelial endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract mucosa in lower vertebrates. I. Epithelial endocrine cells of the stomach of the common frog]. / Mikroskopicheskaia organizatsiia éndokrinnykh kletok épiteliia slizistoi obolochki zheludochno-kishechnogo trakta nizshikh pozvonochnykh. I. Endokrinnye kletki épiteliia zheludka travianoi liagushki.

The quantity, histotopography and submicroscopic organization of endocrine cells in various mucosal epithelium sections of frog were studied using light and electron microscopy. It is shown that the majority of endocrine cells per square millimetre is located in the proximal part of the stomach. Eight types of endocrine cells depending on the submicroscopic structure of secretory granules are defined.

[Microscopic organization of epithelial endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract mucosa in lower vertebrates. II. Epithelial endocrine cells of the duodenum of the common frog]. / Mikroskopicheskaia organizatsiia éndokrinnykh kletok épiteliia slizistoi obolochki zheludochno-kishechnogo trakta nizshikh pozvonochnykh. II. Endokrinnye kletki épiteliia dvenadtsatiperstnoi kishki travianoi liagushki.

The endocrine epithelium cells of the frog duodenum mucosa were studied using light and electron microscopy. In the intestinal epithelium endocrine cells are distributed among enterocytes all over the surface of mucosa. The greatest quantity of them is observed in the intestinal part in the proximity of the stomach. Six types of endocrine cells are identified on the basis of their granular structure and size. Some differentiation in submicroscopic organization of endocrine cells depending on their functional condition is defined.

[Ultrastructure and secretory cycle of the islands of Langerhans cells in pancreatic cancer]. / Ul'trastruktura i sekretornyi tsikl endokrinnykh kletok ostrovkov Langergansa pri rake podzheludochnoi zhelezy.

By electron microscopy, the islets of Langerhans of 5 patients with cancer of the pancreas were studied. The most obvious ultrastructural changes were found in the insulin-producing B-cells. Their cytoplasm contained a reduced number of secretory granules. Many B-cells were seen at different stages of the secretory cycle, part of them being destructed. On studying secretory process, the formation and maturation of B-granules was demonstrated in the cistern of ergastoplasm without the Golgi complex being involved. The data obtained suggest the functional tensity of the insular tissue at the neoplastic process in the exocrine part of the pancreas.

[Differentiation of human pancreatic endocrine cells in the period of fetal development]. / Differentsirovka éndokrinotsitov podzheludochnoi zhelezy cheloveka v plodnyi period razvitiia.

The stereological analysis of electron micrographs of pancreatic endocrine cells (A and B) obtained from human fetuses at gestational months 4 to 7 was performed to assess the volume densities of membranous organelles (mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex), polysomes and secretory granules. The differences were established in the ratios of the volume densities of organelles and secretory granules in the process of differentiation. The morphometric characteristics of total A- and B-cell populations as well as the quantitative data on the structural organization of endocrine cells at various stages of differentiation are presented.

[The ultrastructure of the pancreatic endocrinocytes of human fetuses in postmortem autolysis]. / Ul'trastruktura éndokrinotsitov podzheludochnoi zhelezy plodov cheloveka pri posmertnom autolize.

The method of electron microscopy was used to study the morpho-functional state of pancreatic islands of human fetuses at different terms (10-54 h) after clinical death. Within the periods of time in question the island secretory cells preserve the structure characteristic of each type (B, A, D). The development of symptoms of postmortem autolysis of the pancreatic island is not a chaotic fleeting physico-chemical reaction and is characterized by a definite sequence of cytological changes of endocrinocytes. A conclusion is made that cadaveric material of the pancreas is good for preparing the pancreatic island culture for using it in the following tissue substituting therapy of patients with diabetes mellitus.

[The structure and cytophysiology of the endocrinocytes of the gastric epithelium in a disordered food regimen]. / Stroenie i tsitofiziologiia éndokrinotsitov épiteliia zheludka pri narushenii pishchevogo rezhima.

By means of the light and electron microscopic methods the differentiation and the genesis of the epithelium endocrinocytes of the stomach mucous membrane were studied in the albino rats, fasted for 72-144 hours. The deprivation of food is followed by the increase of the number of endocrinocytes and by the change of their ultrastructure. The latter demonstrates the delay of the elimination of the secretory material in some cells (ECL, G, D, D1 cells) while the active functional condition was found in the others (ECL, A-like cells). Exo-endocrine cells with the EC or A-type granules are found in the epithelium, which is regarded as a mechanism aimed at the increase of the number of the appropriate (ECL or A-type of endocrinocytes, participating in the general metabolism of the organism.