[The aldehyde dehydrogenase activity in the erythrocytes of alcoholic patients]. / Aktivnost' al'degiddegidrogenazy v éritrotsitakh bol'nykh alkogolizmom.

Red cell aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH, EC 1.2.1.3) activity was measured by spectrophotometry in normal subjects and alcoholics after various periods of alcohol abstinence. ALDH was measured in all red cell hemolysate fractions; red cells were purified from hemoglobin by Sephadex CM-50 chromatography. The enzyme activity was found reduced in alcoholics' red cells as against that in controls. ALDH activities were somewhat increasing and approaching the normal values in the patients not using ethanol for 4 weeks or longer. These results recommend ALDH measurements in human red cells as a test for the detection of subjects abusing alcohol.

[The role of guanidine groups of arginine residues of Na, K-ATPase and glutamate dehydrogenase in an interaction with cholesterol]. / Rol' guanidinovykh grupp argininovykh ostatkov Na, K-ATPazy i glutamatdegidrogenazy vo vzaimodeistvii s kholesterinom.

Cholesterol was studied in experiments in vitro for its effect on the activity of Na, K-ATPase of the synaptic brain membranes of rats and a crystalline preparation of glutamate dehydrogenase from the liver mitochondria of a bull. Cholesterol decreased the activity of the above enzymes. When blocking guanidine groups of arginine residues of Na, K-ATPase and glutamate dehydrogenase the inhibiting action of cholesterol was absent. The obtained data evidence for the possibility of a direct interaction of cholesterol with membrane enzymes as well as for the important significance of guanidine groups of arginine residues of proteins in the process.

[Effect of an antiserum to brain gamma gamma-enolase (protein 14-3-2) on ethanol consumption by rats]. / Vliianie antisyvorotki k gamma gamma-enolaze mozga (belku l4-3-2) na potreblenie étanola krysami.

The influence of intracisternal administration of antiserum to the neurospecific brain gamma gamma-enolase (aS-gamma gamma) on the consumption of 7.5% ethanol solution by rats was studied. Injection of aS-gamma gamma decreased the ethanol intake by the rats which had been drinking 15% solution of ethanol for 7 months as a single source of liquid. In vitro aS-gamma gamma caused 4-fold inhibition of the gamma gamma-enolase activity while it did not influence the alpha alpha-enolase activity. Intracisternal administration of aS-gamma gamma shifted enolase isoenzyme spectra in the direction of the decrease of gamma gamma-enolase content. It is suggested that the effect of aS-gamma gamma on ethanol consumption is due to inhibition of the activity of gamma gamma-enolase which participates in energy metabolism in neurons.

[Effect of difenin on taurine binding by subcellular fractions of nerve cells]. / Vliianie difenina na sviazyvanie taurina subkletochnymi fraktsiiami nervnykh kletok.

The binding of 14C-taurine by subcellular fractions of rat brain cortex was studied in vitro. The binding was discovered to be more marked in the presence of phenytoin. The stimulant effect of phenytoin was found to be dose-dependent. The other anticonvulsant drug phenobarbital was not shown to have any noticeable effect on 14C-taurine binding. Analogous results were obtained during investigation of 14C-taurine incorporation into cell cultures of neuroblastoma C1300.

[Comparison of superslow activity with changes in the function of the neocortical cytostructures]. / Sopostavlenie sverkhmedlennoi aktivnosti s izmeneniiami funktsional'nogo sostoianiia tsitostruktur neokorteksa.

Effects of ethimizole on the infraslow ascillations of the brain electrical activity were correlated with the pattern of its distribution within cellular structures. A negative wave of the infraslow activity was found to occur after the drug administration at the moment of its maximal inclusion into the two cellular fractions: the nuclei and the surface proteins of the endoplasmatic net. These structures seem to play part in changes of the central nervous system's functional state.

[Dynamics of the distribution of labeled etimizol in brain cell structures]. / Dinamika raspredeleniia mechenogo étimizola v tsitostrukturakh golovnogo mozga.

The time course of 14C-etimizol distribution in cell structures of the rat cerebral cortex was studied. Two minutes after intraperitoneal injection etimizol penetrates brain cells. At this time the greater portion of the drug is found in cytosol. In five minutes the maximal part of the label gets bound with cell nuclei and microsomal protein fraction extracted with 0.14 M NaCl. These two cell fractions show the highest radioactivity throughout the entire observation period (up to 7 days). Since these fractions are reported to be capable of calcium accumulation, a suggestion is made that metabolic effects of etimizol are likely to be related to calcium metabolism.

[Conditions of spontaneous gelatinization of sarcoplasmic proteins]. / Ob usloviiakh spontannogo Zhelirovaniia sarkoplaszmaticheskikh belkov

Ca2+ ions at low concentration (10(-4)-10(-5) M) when added to ultracentrifugates of sarcoplasmic proteins with minimal content of sarcoplasmic reticulum fragments completely prevent protein gelatinization or gels, formed in these conditions, quickly dilute. Ca2+ ions at the concentration of 10(-3) M prevented in these conditions gelatinization in all the cases studied. Strong gels of sarcoplasmic proteins are formed afterwards in weak acid (pH 6.1-6.75), neutral (pH 7.0) and weak alkaline (pH 7.25-7.45 and higher) media. It is suggested that gelatinization of sarcoplasmic proteins is closely related with the development of plastic tonus, obturatory muscle function and viscous after-effect.