ABSTRACT
Efforts against cold is a significant problem during work in the Arctic. In experiments on grey mice it was demonstrated that drugs from Laminaria Saccarina increase life time of animals in cold temperature (-18 degrees C) by 61%.
Subject(s)
Cold Climate , Laminaria , Life Expectancy , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Animals , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Inbred CBAABSTRACT
Immunomodulatory doses of cucumarioside, a complex of triterpene glycosides from holothurians, cause a delay of mitosis in lever cells and compensatory increase in mitotic activity. Triterpene glycosides can be considered as compounds that can regulate proliferative processes.
Subject(s)
Glycosides/pharmacology , Liver Regeneration/drug effects , Sea Cucumbers , Triterpenes/pharmacology , Animals , Hepatectomy , Male , Rats , Rats, Inbred Strains , Time FactorsABSTRACT
We demonstrated earlier, that undecapeptide of hydra vulgaris possesses vestibulo-protective activities in cats. We also investigated potential of vestibulo-protective properties of other peptide-protein substances from hydrobiontics. The work was done on 18 cats. We used the model of L. A. Radkevich and K. B. Suri for generated vestibulo-vegetative disorders (VVD).
Subject(s)
Caniformia , Peptides/therapeutic use , Seals, Earless , Vestibular Diseases/drug therapy , Animals , Cats , Male , Peptides/pharmacology , Scopolamine/pharmacology , Vestibule, Labyrinth/drug effectsABSTRACT
A total fraction of triterpenic glycosides from Cucumaria japonica named cucumarioside was used as a stimulator of nonspecific resistance to bacterial infections in mice. After intraperitoneal administration to mice subsequently infected with various strains of E. coli and Proteus mirabilis, cucumarioside provided survival of 40 to 90 per cent of the infected animals against 100 per cent in the control group. The protective effect directly depended on the dose of cucumarioside. It was optimal to administer the preparation 3 days before the infection. When the preparation was administered at such periods LD50 for Neisseria meningitidis BT-2 and Salmonella minnesota SF 1111 lowered 5 and 4.3 times, respectively. Therefore, the total fraction of triterpenic glycosides from Far Eastern holothuria had a marked ability to increase natural resistance of the animals to infections caused by various gram-negative organisms.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage , Escherichia coli Infections/immunology , Immunity, Innate/drug effects , Opportunistic Infections/immunology , Proteus Infections/immunology , Pseudomonas Infections/immunology , Triterpenes/administration & dosage , Adjuvants, Immunologic , Animals , Escherichia coli/drug effects , Escherichia coli/pathogenicity , Escherichia coli Infections/prevention & control , Glycosides , Immunity, Innate/immunology , Mice , Opportunistic Infections/prevention & control , Proteus Infections/prevention & control , Proteus mirabilis/drug effects , Proteus mirabilis/pathogenicity , Pseudomonas Infections/prevention & control , Pseudomonas aeruginosa/drug effects , Pseudomonas aeruginosa/pathogenicity , Sea CucumbersABSTRACT
It was found that the molecular mass of the angiotensin-converting enzyme from seal (Phoca groenlandica) lungs determined by electrophoresis in 7.5% PAAG in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate is 150 kD. The enzyme has a pH optimum with respect to hippuryl-L-histidyl-L-leucine at 7.3--7.5; KM is 1.2 mM. The enzyme is inhibited by the substrate to form a nonproductive ES2 complex with the dissociation constant (Ks') of 4.8 mM. The activation of the seal angiotensin-converting enzyme in the presence of NaCl was studied. The bradykinin-potentiating factor (SQ 20881) inhibits the seal enzyme with a high efficiency (IC50 = 2.5.10(-8) M). Monoclonal antibodies to the angiotensin-converting enzyme from human lungs do not interact with its seal lung counterpart, which points to the species specificity of the angiotensin-converting enzyme.
Subject(s)
Caniformia/metabolism , Lung/enzymology , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/isolation & purification , Seals, Earless/metabolism , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors , Animals , Kinetics , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/metabolism , Substrate SpecificityABSTRACT
The electrophysiological experiments were carried out on five male macaques rhesus under nembutal anesthesia. Kinesthetic evoked potentials in response to arm rotation in the elbow joint were registered in the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex. The data obtained show a significant increase in the duration of kinesthetic potential first positive component with 10 degrees-40 degrees arm rotation amplitude, as compared to 2 degrees rotation. On the contrary, the latent period and amplitude of the component in this stimulation range (2 degrees-40 degrees) were similar. It is suggested that the increase in the arm rotation angle is selectively reflected in the temporary parameters of kinesthetic potential first positive component.
Subject(s)
Elbow Joint/physiology , Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory , Kinesthesis/physiology , Macaca mulatta/physiology , Macaca/physiology , Somatosensory Cortex/physiology , Animals , Male , Movement , Physical Stimulation/methods , Reaction Time/physiology , Restraint, Physical , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The application of hepatopancreas collagenase from crab Paralithodes camtschatica for the isolation and cultivation of the endothelial cells was studied in human umbilical vein endothelium. The comparison of the enzyme from crab hepatopancreas with collagenase from Clostridium histoliticum has shown that the number of viable cells isolated from human umbilical vein by the crab enzyme was lower than in the case of microbial collagenase. However, this difference was not significant for subsequent cultivation of cells. Harvesting of the endothelial cells from the substrate during cultivation was more effective in the case when collagenase from crab hepatopancreas was used. It was shown that crab collagenase, in contrast with microbiological collagenase, was not a metal-dependent enzyme.
Subject(s)
Endothelium, Vascular/cytology , Microbial Collagenase , Animals , Brachyura , Cytological Techniques , Humans , Liver/enzymology , Pancreas/enzymology , Umbilical Veins/cytologyABSTRACT
Antibodies to Re-glycolipid of the outer membrane of enterobacteria have been detected in higher titers in the blood and milk of mothers and in the umbilical blood of newborns than in the blood of nonpregnant women. Re-antibodies in the umbilical blood are mainly resistant to 2-mercaptoethanol and possess higher protective activity with respect to Escherichia coli than Re-antibodies in the venous blood of mothers.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Bacterial/analysis , Enterobacteriaceae/immunology , Glycolipids/immunology , Infant, Newborn/immunology , Lipopolysaccharides/immunology , Membrane Lipids/immunology , Adolescent , Adult , Animals , Antibodies, Bacterial/administration & dosage , Antibodies, Bacterial/immunology , Escherichia coli Infections/prevention & control , Female , Fetal Blood/immunology , Hemagglutination Tests , Humans , Mice , Milk, Human/immunologySubject(s)
Afferent Pathways/drug effects , Somatosensory Cortex/physiology , Synaptic Transmission/drug effects , Thymosin/pharmacology , Afferent Pathways/physiology , Animals , Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory/drug effects , Macaca mulatta , Male , Nociceptors/drug effects , Nociceptors/physiology , Somatosensory Cortex/drug effectsABSTRACT
The studies were performed on 4 intact and 3 callosotomized adult male rhesus monkeys that comprised one social group. Group behaviour of all the monkeys was investigated by the frequency method of social contacts registration. Both aggressive and friendly contacts were registered. The results obtained have shown a considerable decrease in social contacts of callosotomized rhesus monkeys, as compared to normal animals. The aggressive contacts prevailed in the behaviour of the operated monkeys. The data suggest that callosotomy does not only significantly decrease the frequency, but also alters the structure of social contacts in the rhesus monkeys.
Subject(s)
Corpus Callosum/physiology , Social Behavior , Aggression , Animals , Macaca mulatta , MaleABSTRACT
Electrophysiological studies were performed on adult cats under ethaminal anesthesia. Kinesthetic potentials were evoked by passive extension of the ulnar joint and recorded in contralateral primary somatosensory cortical area. Natural (nonelectrical) stimulation of peripheral kinesthetic receptors was performed according to the author's original method. The results obtained show significantly shorter latent period of contralateral kinesthetic potentials in comparison with somatosensory potentials in response to electrical stimulation of the skin. These data demonstrate the possibility of super-rapid conduction of modal-specific volleys to the cortical projection centres in the kinesthetic system of cats.
Subject(s)
Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory , Forelimb/innervation , Kinesthesis/physiology , Sensory Receptor Cells/physiology , Somatosensory Cortex/physiology , Animals , CatsABSTRACT
The influence of cucumarioside, triterpene glycoside obtained from Cucumaria japonica (Echinodermata, Holoturioidea), or sea cucumbers, on the resistance of mice to Bordetella pertussis infection (with the use experimental pertussis meningoencephalitis as a model) and on the development of immune response to corpuscular pertussis vaccine was studied. The preparation under test was shown to have greatly pronounced immunomodulating properties depending on both the concentration of cucumarioside and the route of its administration, as well as on the dose of pertussis vaccine. When administered orally in a dose of 4 micrograms per mouse and intraperitoneally in doses of 0.04 and 0.0004 micrograms, cucumarioside enhanced the protective effect of corpuscular pertussis vaccine. The use of cucumarioside in a dose of 0.001 micrograms per mouse abolished the suppressive action of large doses of pertussis vaccine in the background rosette-formation test at an early period after immunization and increased number of immune rosettes formed by lymphocytes in the spleen of mice immunized with different doses of the corpuscular vaccine.
Subject(s)
Antigen-Antibody Reactions/drug effects , Echinodermata , Marine Toxins/immunology , Pertussis Vaccine/immunology , Sea Cucumbers , Triterpenes/immunology , Animals , Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic , Glycosides , Immunization , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Inbred CBA , Rosette FormationABSTRACT
Thymosin (thymosin fraction 5), in combination with mitogen (concanavalin A) augments the amount of interferon produced in human peripheral blood lymphocytes (in vitro studies). In addition, after pretreatment of mice with thymosin (intraperitoneal administration), thymosin augments the mitogen-induced interferon production in mouse lymphocytes in vitro. The produced interferon is immune interferon (IFN-gamma) as determined by sensitivity to pH 2 and lack of neutralization by antibodies to IFN-alpha or IFN-beta. Results indicate that thymic hormones may also participate in the regulation of interferon production.
Subject(s)
Concanavalin A/pharmacology , Interferons/biosynthesis , Lymphocytes/metabolism , Thymosin/pharmacology , Animals , Blood Cells/metabolism , Humans , Mice , Mice, Inbred Strains , Spleen/cytology , Spleen/metabolism , Thymidine , TritiumABSTRACT
When injected intraperitoneally into mice in doses of 40.0-0.4 microgram, Cucumarioside, the preparation of triterpene glycosides obtained from sea cucumbers (Cusumaria japonica), enhanced the resistance of the animals to the subsequent challenge with Salmonella typhimurium. The study of the duration of the persistence of salmonellae in mice receiving the preparation in a dose of 0.001 microgram revealed a decrease in the contamination of their organs. The same dose of the preparation stimulated the phagocytic activity of peritoneal exudate cells with salmonellae showing decreased cytopathogenic action. This suggests that Cucumarioside enhances nonspecific protective factors, activates the macrophagal system and facilitates the development of complete phagocytosis.