Cisplatin and progesterone separate and combined action on rat brain nuclear phospholipids content.

The antitumor agent cisplatin and steroid hormone progesterone separate and combined action on content of total phospholipids and their individual classes in nuclei from rat brain cells were investigated. Cisplatin and progesterone exhibit their own characteristic properties, when used separately. Cisplatin reduces, and progesterone, on the contrary, increases the content of total phospholipids. When used together, the effects of these drugs are summed up. Cisplatin reduces the content of all 7 individual phospholipids found in rat brain nuclear preparations. Progesterone, on the other hand, increases the content of 5 classes of phospholipids. The combined use of cisplatin and progesterone restores 5 classes of nuclear phospholipids to the baseline level, and increases the quantity of 2 classes. The obtained results are discussed in terms of antagonistic effects of studied drugs, which can help in reducing undesirable side effects of cisplatin in case of combined use of antitumor drug and steroid.

The effects of ultraviolet, gamma- and X-ray irradiation on the growth, antibacterial activity and radio-protective of Lactobacillus rhamnosus.

Ionizing radiation is widely applied in food production as preservation technology and for correction of the gut microbiome of cancer patients, rescuers, astronauts etc. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can be used for the same reason. The main goal of this study was to investigate the effect of irradiation on some activities of Lactobacillus rhamnosus MDC 9661 and its effect on the survival of irradiated rats. The results indicate that both ultraviolet (during 45 min) and X-ray irradiations (with 2 Sv) decreased the CFU and the antibacterial activity of the strain. Higher than 700 Sv dose of X-ray irradiation resulted in the total inhibition of antibacterial activity with the total reduction of colony forming units less than 10 cells ml-1 , while irradiated with 1000 Sv dose L. rhamnosus MDC 9661 did not lose its proteolytic activity. It was also shown that L. rhamnosus MDC 9661 was not immunogenic in the organism of the rats and cannot lead to the development of autoimmune responses. L. rhamnosus MDC 9661 demonstrated the necessary properties for probiotics and can be effectively used for the correction of the gut microbiome of all target groups. The co-aggregation of the cells is one of the mechanisms for resistance of LAB to irradiation.