Effect of Phosphatidylcholine Nanosomes on Phospholipid Composition of the Plasma Membranes in Liver Cells and Blood Serum in Experimental Atherosclerosis.

Alimentary atherosclerosis is associated with a significant decrease in the content of phosphatidylcholine, the phospholipid that provides antioxidant protection, in the plasma membrane of liver cells, while the level of phosphatidic acid that initiates generation of superoxides, on the contrary, increases. The level of membrane phosphatidylserine, a target of the scavenger receptors, which initiates removal of damaged cells and modified lipoproteins from the circulation was also elevated. In the blood serum of rabbits receiving an atherogenic diet, the content of cardiolipin involved in the immune mechanisms of atherosclerosis development and a risk factor for thrombosis, sharply increased. The level of lysophosphatidylcholine that mediates initiation and progression of atherosclerosis increased. The content of phosphatidylinositol that is involved in the mechanisms protecting from exposure to excess cholesterol was significantly reduced. Treatment of alimentary atherosclerosis with "empty" phosphatidylcholine nanosomes eliminates the key factors initiating atherosclerosis development.

Immune Response and Protective Efficacy of Inactivated and Live Influenza Vaccines Against Homologous and Heterosubtypic Challenge.

Inactivated (whole-virion, split, subunit, and adjuvanted) vaccines and live attenuated vaccine were tested in parallel to compare their immunogenicity and protective efficacy. Homologous and heterosubtypic protection against the challenge with influenza H5N1 and H1N1 viruses in a mouse model were studied. Single immunization with live or inactivated whole-virion H5N1 vaccine elicited a high level of serum antibodies and provided complete protection against the challenge with the lethal A/Chicken/Kurgan/3/05 (H5N1) virus, whereas application of a single dose of the split vaccine was much less effective. Adjuvants increased the antibody levels. Addition of the Iso-SANP adjuvant to the split vaccine led to a paradoxical outcome: it increased the antibody levels but reduced the protective effect of the vaccine. All tested adjuvants shifted the ratio between IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies. Immunization with any of the tested heterosubtypic live viruses provided partial protection against the H5N1 challenge and significantly reduced mouse mortality, while inactivated H1N1 vaccine offered no protection at all. More severe course of illness and earlier death were observed in mice after immunization with adjuvanted subunit vaccines followed by the challenge with the heterosubtypic virus compared to challenged unvaccinated animals.

[Lipoilcarnosine: synthesis, study of physico-chemical and antioxidant properties, biological activity]. / Lipoilkarnozin: sintez, izuchenie fiziko-khimicheskikh i antioksidantnykh svoistv, biologicheskaia aktivnost'.

Synthesis of lipoilcarnosine (LipC) - a conjugated molecule based on two natural antioxidants, carnosine and a-lipoic acid, is described. Its physico-chemical, antioxidant properties and biological activity are characterized. According to reversed-phase HPLC with a UV detector, purity of the final product was 89.3%. The individuality of the obtained sodium salt of LipC was confirmed by tandem HPLC-mass spectrometry. High resistance of LipC to hydrolysis with serum carnosinase was demonstrated. The antioxidant activity of LipC measured by reaction with the formation of thiobarbituric acid reacting substances and kinetic parameters of iron-induced chemiluminescence was higher than that of carnosine and lipoic acid. LipC did not affect viability of SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma culture cells, differentiated towards the dopaminergic type, at concentrations not exceeding 5 mM. At the concentration range of 0.1-0.25 mM LipC protected neuronal cells against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP + )-induced toxicity.

PGMD: a comprehensive manually curated pharmacogenomic database.

The PharmacoGenomic Mutation Database (PGMD) is a comprehensive manually curated pharmacogenomics database. Two major sources of PGMD data are peer-reviewed literature and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) drug labels. PGMD curators capture information on exact genomic location and sequence changes, on resulting phenotype, drugs administered, patient population, study design, disease context, statistical significance and other properties of reported pharmacogenomic variants. Variants are annotated into functional categories on the basis of their influence on pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, efficacy or clinical outcome. The current release of PGMD includes over 117 000 unique pharmacogenomic observations, covering all 24 disease superclasses and nearly 1400 drugs. Over 2800 genes have associated pharmacogenomic variants, including genes in proximity to intergenic variants. PGMD is optimized for use in annotating next-generation sequencing data by providing genomic coordinates for all covered variants, including Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), insertions, deletions, haplotypes, diplotypes, Variable Number Tandem Repeats (VNTR), copy number variations and structural variations.

Terahertz optical properties of potassium titanyl phosphate crystals.

This paper studies the terahertz optical properties of nonlinear potassium titanyl phosphate crystals with different conductivities in the spectral range of 0.2 to 2.6 THz. The observed properties are characterized by several absorption lines lying along different optical axes which represent the relevant potassium sublattice phonon modes. The peculiarities of these absorption lines are attributed to the structural order of potassium ions.

Experimental investigation of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of carbamazepine nanoemulsion.

Anticonvulsant activity and pharmacokinetics of nanoemulsion and unmodified substance of carbamazepine were compared in experiments on mice. Carbamazepine nanoemulsion demonstrated significant anticonvulsant activity and was superior to unmodified substance of carbamazepine against seizures induced by maximum electric shock and picrotoxin. Relative bioavailability of carbamazepine after administration of nanoemulsion was 160% compared to unmodified substance. Carbamazepine nanoemulsion more effectively penetrated through BBB by 1.5 times in comparison with unmodified substance.

[Obtaining of the affinity purified antibodies against survivin for the structure functional study of the protein].

Tumor-associated protein survivin is the bifunctional protein which can participate either in cell division regulation or in apoptosis inhibition depending on its localization and structure state. The aim of this work was to obtain monospecific antibodies useful for investigation of protein structure and functional features. Six affinity purified antibodies directed to different protein regions were obtained. The ability of antibodies obtained to detect survivin in tumor cells and breast cancer tissues was studied. It was shown that antibodies to (1-22) and (95-105) survivin fragments have the highest specific activity. In western-blot antibodies to (1-22) region predominantly binds with survivin-containing complex, which may be the survivin dimer as we suppose, while antibodies to (95-105) region detects only monomeric form of the protein. Breast cancer tissues study demonstrated that survivin monomer presents only in the tumor core tissues, while survivin-containing complex is expressed both in tumor core and tumor periphery tissues. It was shown that antibodies to (1-22) fragment detect predominantly nuclear survivin, which participates in mitosis regulation, while antibodies to (95-105) fragment gave nucleoplasm and cytoplasm staining at all stages of cell cycle. Thereby antibodies obtained are the useful tool for structure-functional study of survivin.

[Effect of acetylsalicylic acid in complex with lipid nanostructures of various compositions on human platelet aggregation].

The effect of lipid nanocomplexes loaded with acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) on platelet aggregation in vitro was investigated. The antithrombotic effect of aspirin in complex with liposomes prepared from pig brain glycosphingolipids is not only significantly higher compared to control, but also accompanied by leveling of the development of proaggregant effects. It was shown that ADP-induced platelet aggregation is reduced by the introduction of electrostatic charge in the structure of lipid bilayer of liposomes. The effect achieved for the liposomes possessing a negative charge was more pronounced in comparison to the effect of positively charged liposomes.

Fluorescent microscopic study of endocytosis of nanoparticles by platelets.

We propose a method of precise measurement of the content of nanoparticles carrying a fluorescent label in platelets. Examination under a broadband filter does not allow distinguishing platelets containing and not containing nanoparticles despite different staining of platelets and nanoparticles. Print Screen image of the sample made at the moment of sample motion divides the colors of nanoparticles and platelets and yields two clear-cut spots of different colors on the monitor indicating the presence of nanoparticles in platelets.

[Effect of a synthetic analogue of bacterial anabiosis autoinducers hexylresorcinol on the stability of membrane structures].

The effect of hexylresorcinol (HR), a chemical analogue of microbial anabiosis autoinducers of the alkylhydroxybenzene (AHB) group, on the stability of biological membranes and monolamellar liposomes formed of egg phosphatidylcholine (ePC) was studied. According to spectrophotometry and electron microscopy studying of HR-loaded liposomes in the presence of a surface-active agent Tween 20, the critical ratio between HR and ePC for liposome preservation was found to be close to equimolar. The trends in HR influence on membrane structural organization and stability confirmed in experiments on liposomes were also reproduced on intact bacterial cells explaining non-species-specific effect of AHBs. The demonstrated high efficiency of AHB biocides may be used in material and equipment protection against biocorrosion.

[Artificial inhibition of the complement system].

A great number of natural substances affect the complement system in addition to its natural regulators. Among the complement effectors, the most important are inhibitors of the activation cascade. The necessity of searching for preparations capable of a purposeful effect on complement by inhibition of single stages of the activation cascade and without influence on its other functions is connected with the current importance of use in medicine of novel therapeutic regulators of the complement system. Important directions are the search for complement inhibitors that (a) interfere with the rejection of transplants; (b) can replace C1 inhibitor in hereditary angioedema, and (c) have a high anti-inflammatory activity in the therapy of rheumatic diseases, diabetes, and other autoimmune disorders. It is expedient to use the available techniques for the directed detection of the action of medicinal substances on complement, which allow the determination of their action on the complement system at various stages of the cascade of its activation.

Antiviral activity of liposomal preparations of antibiotic geliomycin.

A liposomal preparation with maximally possible content of incorporated geliomycin was obtained. Its cytotoxicity was studied in a culture of human embryonal diploid fibroblasts. Antiviral activity was studied on a model of cytomegaloviral infection in vitro by the capacity to plaque formation. Liposomal geliomycin was 10-fold less toxic for human cells than the solution of the antibiotic in DMSO and exhibited antiviral activity towards cytomegaloviral infection at a concentration of 0.042 microg/ml.

[Synthesis and antitumor activity of cyclopropane derivatives of betulinic and betulonic acids].

New cyclopropane derivatives of betulin were synthesized by attachment of dichlorocarbenes or dibromocarbenes to the double bond of betulin diacetate, followed by the deprotection of hydroxyl groups. The betulin cyclopropane derivative was obtained from 20,29-dihydro-20,29-dichloromethylenebetulin by treatment with lithium in tert-butanol. These compounds were converted into the corresponding derivatives of betulonic acid by oxidation with chromium trioxide. The reduction of oxo group with sodium borohydride led to the corresponding derivatives of betulinic acid. 20,29-Dihydro-20,29-dichloromethylenebetulinic acid proved to be the most cytotoxic toward human melanoma of the Colo 38 and Bro lines and human ovarian carcinoma of the CaOv line (IC50 10 microM). 20,29-Dihydro-20,29-dibromomethylenebetulinic acid inhibited the growth of the Bro melanoma cell line and the CaOv carcinoma cell line practically by 50% at a concentration of 10 microM. The other derivatives of betulinic and betulonic acids were active toward all of the three cancer cell lines at concentrations higher than 10 microM. The English version of the paper: Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry, 2005, vol. 31, no. 3; see also http://www.maik.ru.

[The mechanism of inhibition of the activation of the complement first component by polyanions and polycations ]. / Mekhanizm ingibirovaniia polianionami i polikationami aktivatsii pervogo komponenta komplementa.

Polyethyleneimine (PEI, 50 kDa) and polymethacrylic acid (PMA, 200 kDa) were shown to inhibit the lysis of sheep erythrocytes induced by the guinea pig complement. They twofold suppress the hemolysis at the concentrations of 0.47 and 0.89 microgram/ml, respectively. The inhibitory effect on the binding of the C1q subunit of human complement to the sensitized sheep erythrocytes (EA) was found to depend on the component of the reaction with which the inhibitors were preliminarily incubated. When an inhibitor, C1q, and EA were simultaneously incubated, the inhibition constants for PEI and PMA were 17 +/- 6 and 8.1 +/- 0.1 micrograms/ml, respectively. The preincubation of EA with PEI and the subsequent washing out of the inhibitor resulted in the inhibition constant of 22 +/- 3 micrograms/ml. No inhibitory effect was observed after a similar preincubation of EA with PMA. No inhibition was also detected when the inhibitors were added after the formation of the C1q complex with antibodies. These observations suggest that the binding of antibodies to cationic PEI prevents the C1q-antibody complex formation, while the binding of anionic PMA to the active site of C1q impedes the interaction of this subunit with immunoglobulins. Moreover, within the range of concentrations studied, the studied inhibitors did not affect the subsequent C1q binding to the C1r and C1s enzymes.

[Epimerization of hydroxyl group in the lupan series of triterpenes]. / Epimerizatsiia gidroksil'noi gruppy v triterpenakh lupanovogo riada.

Two methods of obtaining of 3 alpha-betulinic acid and related compounds from their 3 beta-epimers were studied: the reaction of bimolecular substitution and the stereoselective reduction of 3-ketoderivatives. The substitution of acyloxy by formyloxy group in 3-O-tosyllupeol or of the betulin hydroxyl by benzoyloxy group resulted only in delta 2, 3-elimination products, with none of the expected products of bimolecular substitution being found. The catalytic hydrogenation of betulonic acid over Raney nickel resulted only in reduction of the isopropenyl double bond, whereas the use of 5% Ru/C gave a 60:40 mixture of epimers of dihydrobetulinic acid. Practically the same mixture of betulinic acid epimers was obtained when reducing betulonic acid with L-Selectride. The cytotoxic activity of 3 alpha-betulinic acid increased toward melanoma Bro cells and decreased toward melanoma MS cells.

[Comparative analysis of models describing interactions between antibodies and liposomal antigens]. / Sravnitel'nyi analiz modelei vzaimodeistviia antitel s liposomal'nymi antigenami.

Mathematical models of three levels of complexity are proposed, describing the interactions between antibodies and polyvalent liposomal antigens. The models take into account the contribution of high-affinity bivalent complexes and clusters of several antigenic groups to the immunochemical reaction. The models were analyzed numerically at different values of thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of the antigen-antibody reaction. Conditions, under which models of different levels of complexity provide a satisfactory description of the antigen-antibody interaction, were determined. The adequacy of the results of modeling was confirmed experimentally in liposomal preparations differing from each other by the surface density of monovalent hapten (atrazine) conjugated with a lipid.

Liposomes containing dopamine entrapped in response to transmembrane ammonium sulfate gradient as carrier system for dopamine delivery into the brain of parkinsonian mice.

The active loading of liposomes with dopamine in response to an ammonium sulfate gradient was studied. This method can be regarded as a mean to more efficiently improve the liposomal dopamine/lipids ratio in comparison to conventional methods of liposome preparation. Trapping efficiency of dopamine into liposomes exhibiting a transmembrane ammonium sulfate gradient was shown to be dependent on liposome lipid composition, lipid concentration and temperature. Dopamine-containing liposomes with alpha-tocopherol in the lipid bilayer were shown to be stable at least for three weeks. It has been found that intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of conventionally prepared dopamine-containing liposomes as well as liposomes with increased dopamine/lipid ratio may efficiently suppress the expression of parkinsonian symptoms in C57BL/6 mice with experimental parkinsonian syndrome. On the other hand, only through increasing of liposomal dopamine/lipid ratio the complete compensation of dopamine deficiency in the mice brain was achieved. The obtained data may be considered as biochemical evidence in favor of liposomes' ability to act as a carrier system for the delivery of dopamine into the brain.

[The inhibition of complement-dependent hemolysis of liposomes containing cerebroside sulfate]. / Ingibirovanie komplementzavisimogo gemoliza liposomami, soderzhashchimi tserebrozidsul'fat.

Cerebroside sulfate (CGS) was found to be capable of inhibiting complement-dependent hemolysis. The activity dependence of CGS-containing liposomes on their composition was studied. Mixtures of CGS with phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, sphingomyelin from cattle brain, cerebroside from cattle spinal cord (CG), and egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (ePC) were investigated. In the case of binary CGS/ePC mixtures, the antihemolytic activity varied nonlinearly with an increase in the mass part of CGS: it sharply increased with an increase in the CGS part from 0.3 to 0.5 and decreased by 20-30% of the maximum value with an increase in the CGS part from 0.9 to 1. On the basis of these experiments, the optimum distance between the charged groups of CGS was estimated to be 0.92-1.6 nm. In the ternary compositions of 4:3:3 CGS/ePC/polar lipid, only CG increased the activity of liposomes as compared to that of liposomes from the 4:6 CGS/ePC. The preliminary incubation of CGS-containing liposomes with complement decreased hemolysis more effectively than incubation with other components of the hemolytic system. This suggests that the interaction of CGS-containing liposomes with the complement proteins is responsible for their antihemolytic activity.

[Concentrating dopamine in liposomes using transmembrane gradient of ammonium sulfate]. / Kontsentirovanie dopamina v liposomakh s pomoshch'iu transmembrannogo gradienta kontsentratsii sul'fata ammoniia.

The active loading of liposomes from egg phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol with dopamine using an ammonium sulfate gradient was studied. Our conditions allowed the enrichment of the monolamellar liposomes with 90% dopamine added to the medium and, thus, considerably improve the dopamine/lipid ratio. Dopamine-containing liposomes with tocopherol in their lipid bilayer were shown to be stable for 3 weeks.

[Liposomes and other nanoparticles as drug delivery systems]. / Liposomy i drugie nanochastitsy kak sredstvo dostavki lekarstvennykh veshchestv.

The basic principles of designing of nanoparticle drug delivery systems are considered. The special attention is paid to liposomes, because the greatest success has been achieved in this area. The modern condition in such intensively developing areas as antitumor and, antibacterials drugs, gene therapy, vaccines is reviewed.