[Immunoregulatory cytokines and chronization of type C hepatitis: matching of clinical and immunological manifestations].

The study demonstrates significant changes of cytokine-producing ability of mononuclear blood leucocytes in type 'hepatitis, correlating with the degree of hepatic lesion. The results showed that various morphologic types of chronic virus type C hepatitis were associated with disbalance in production of pro- and antiinflammatory cytokines, i.e. decrease of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha concentration and a significant rise of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10 concentations, which were the most prominent in cases of severe hepatic fibrosis and high histologic activity of hepatitis. The study established a direct correlation between increase of the ability of mononuclear blood leucocytes to synthesize IL-4, and the progress of the pathologic process.

Molecular mechanisms of changes in TNF-alpha production by blood mononuclears in chronic viral hepatitis C.

Chronic viral hepatitis C is associated with decreased production of TNF-alpha by the peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes irrespective of virus genotype and degree of the morphological activity of the process in the liver. This process positively correlates with the increase in the content of TNF-alpha soluble receptor (molecular weight 55 kDa), which can play a role in the mechanisms of immunopathogenesis of long persistence of hepatitis C virus in the body.

Chronic tick-borne encephalitis virus antigenemia: possible pathogenesis pathways.

Study of the proliferative potential and immunophenotype of lymphocytes and cytokine-producing capacity of mononuclear cells in patients with chronic tick-borne encephalitis virus antigenemia showed changes in T cell lymphoproliferative response, relative content of T cells and T helper inductors, immunoregulatory index, and imbalance in the production of immunoregulatory Th1 and Th2 cytokines.

[Typical changes of lymphocyte surface architectonics in chronic viral infection].

With the use of scanning electron microscopy, lymphocyte surface architectonics has been described in cases of chronic viral persistence at tick-borne (vernal) encephalitis, hepatitis types A and B, and Herpes simplex. In lymphocytic population smooth and plicate cells in addition to cells with vesicles and outgrowths on the surface prevailed. The appearance of lymphocytes with a combined type of superficial microrelief was registered. It is supposed that despite the variety of types of lymphocyte surface architectonics and possible causes promoting their polymorphism, changes in superficial ultrastructure of immunocompetent cells for chronic viral infection have a nonspecific character.

[The surface architectonics, functional characteristics, and metabolism in peripheral blood lymphocytes in acute herpes virus infection]. / Poverkhnostnaia arkhitektonika, funktsional'nye osobennosti i metabolizm limfotsitov perifericheskoi krovi pri khronicheskoi gerpesvirusnoi infektsii.

Twenty-five patients (males--11, females--14; aged 18 to 45) with chronic herpes virus infection relapsing at the time of clinical tests were examined, including investigations of the surface architectonics, the ability to blast-transformation and the metabolic status of peripheral-blood lymphocytes. Chronic herpes virus infection was found to be concurrent with changes of the percentage ratio of lymphocytes with the surface micro-patterns of different types, with a more intense activity of the immunity T-chain and with a changed nature of the intracellular metabolism of lymphocyte cells.

Fluorescent probing of lymphocyte and erythrocyte plasma membranes in persistence of tick-borne encephalitis virus: monitoring of structural changes.

The structure of lymphocyte and erythrocyte plasma membrane in patients with long persistence of tick-borne encephalitis virus was studied using fluorescent probes pyrene and 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonate. The authors analyze the clear-cut disorders in the membranes of both lymphocytes and erythrocytes in viral tick-borne-encephalitis from the viewpoint of generalized involvement of cell membranes in infectious process.

["Hematological masks" of chronic viral hepatitis]. / "Gematologicheskie maski" khronicheskogo virusnogo gepatita.

AIM: To reveal the structural features of the red blood cell membrane in patients with prolonged persistence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 61 patients with moderate and mild chronic viral hepatitis B and C were examined. A control group comprised 22 healthy donors. Fluorescence of the red blood cell membrane was performed, by using the following probes: pyrene, phenylnaphthylamine, 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonate. The activity of the ion-transporting enzyme Na+, K(+)-ATPase was determined. RESULTS: Increases in the microviscosity of the lipid bilayer, periprotein lipid environment, as well as the structural modification of the surface layers of the membrane were found in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C. The activity of the membrane-bound enzyme Na+, K(+)-ATPase was statistically significantly decreased as compared with that in healthy donors. CONCLUSION: In HBV and HCV infection, the impairments of the red blood system are highly diversified: they involve bone marrow compartment of an erythron, as earlier shown, and its peripheral one. Molecular disorganization of the red blood cell membrane fails to present with obvious red blood cell dysfunctions. Despite the multifactorial property of their occurrence, impairments of the red blood system are mediated and corrected by many regulatory mechanisms at different organizational levels and may be compensated.