Proliferative and inflammatory factors in the vitreous of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

PURPOSE: The purpose was to measure the concentrations of various cytokines and growth factors (including vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] and pigment epithelium-derived factor [PEDF]) in the vitreous of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and to investigate interaction between inflammatory and proliferative factors in the genesis of PDR. Materials and Methods : Vitreous samples from 32 eyes with PDR and 25 eyes without diabetes mellitus and signs of DR (control) were collected. Vitreous concentrations of VEGF, PEDF, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A, and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) were simultaneously measured using enzyme-linked immunoassay. Results : Vitreous levels of VEGF, PEDF, IL-17A, IL-6, IL-8, IL-4, and sIgA were significantly (Π < 0.05) higher in eyes with PDR compared to control. The concentration of VEGF was more than 17-times higher than in control, and the concentration of PEDF was not changed oppositely and was also higher (1.45-times) compared to control, that may indicate disturbances of compensatory mechanisms in angiogenesis regulation in PDR. Significant (Π < 0.05) positive correlations were observed between vitreous concentrations of VEGF and IL-17ΐ (r = 0.45), VEGF and IL-8 (r = 0.48), VEGF and IL-4 (r = 0.51), PEDF and IL-17ΐ (r = 0.48), PEDF and IL-8 (r = 0.59), MCP-1 and PEDF (r = 0.72), MCP-1 and IL-8 (r0 = 0.45), IL-4 and IL-17ΐ (r = 0.65), IL-4 and IL-8 (r = 0.71), IL-8 and IL-17ΐ (r = 0.59). CONCLUSIONS: Significantly raised levels of inflammatory and proliferative factors and numerous positive correlations between them may demonstrate a significant role of activation of vascular proliferation and local inflammation in the pathogenesis of PDR.

[The antibody spectrum after the inoculation of sensitive animals with Yersinia pestis and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis bacteria]. / Spektr antitel pri vvedenii chuvstvitel'nym zhivotnym bakterii Yersinia pestis i Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.

Antibody spectra in the sera of guinea pigs and white mice infected with Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis, the causative agents of plague and pseudotuberculosis, were determined with the use of immunoblotting. The amount of antigens, found to produce humoral immune response both in plague and in pseudotuberculosis was, on the whole, considerably less (5-6 times) in white mice than in guinea pigs. The animals were found to produce antibody response to plasmid-specific (Yop) Y. pestis antigens with with molecular weights 76, 41 and 34 kD and Y. pseudotuberculosis antigens with molecular wt of 41, 34 and 25 kD. Differences in the character of humoral immune response induced in guinea pigs by killed and live Y. pseudotuberculosis were determined. In the animals inoculated with killed bacteria these differences consisted in the absence of antibody formation to the immunodominant antigen with a molecular weight of 62 kD and in the increase of antibody response to antigens with molecular weights of 36 and 21 kD, supposed to be related to Y. pseudotuberculosis pathogenicity factors and to possess protective properties.

[Yersinia pestis superoxide dismutase]. / Superoksiddismutazy shumnogo mikroba.

Superoxide dismutases with molecular weight of 65-67 and 200 kD have been identified in Yersinia pestis EV cells. These enzymes have some differences in antigenic specificity, resistance to heating and inhibitors (cyanides and hydrogen peroxide). The activity of Y. pestis superoxide dismutase is a thermoinducible sign unassociated with the presence of residual plasmids of the bacilli. Superoxide dismutase can be released from the cells into liquid culture medium. Patients inoculated with live plaque vaccine develop a humoral response to high molecular-weight superoxide dismutase. Immunization of guinea pigs with purified high molecular-weight superoxide dismutase ensures their specific protection after subcutaneous injection.

[Extrachromosomal genetic elements of Clostridium botulinum. I. Plasmids of toxigenic and atoxigenic strains of Clostridium botulinum type A]. / Vnekhromosomnye geneticheskie élementy Clostridium botulinum. I. Plazmidy toksigennykh i atoksigennykh shtammov Clostridium botulinum tipa A.

Plasmid profiles in fifteen toxigenic and six nontoxigenic strains of Clostridium botulinum type A were investigated. The electrophoretic patterns of nucleic acids from the bacterial lysates were shown to vary in relation to the mode of bacterial cells lysis and the stage of microbial population growth. Two toxigenic strains harbour a unique 3.9 MD plasmid, five strains have a plasmid of about 6 Md and seven other strains carry an 11.5 Md plasmid. The nontoxigenic derivatives of two toxigenic strains harbouring a 6 Md plasmid have lost this extrachromosomal element. The analysis of the derivatives has not indicated the 6 Md plasmid to be connected with bacteriocin production or antibiotic resistance in Clostridium botulinum. Nontoxigenic variants of three other strains possess an 11.5 Md plasmid similar to their toxigenic parents' one. One of the studied toxigenic strains harboured no plasmids, as well as its nontoxigenic derivative. The functions of all studied plasmids remain unknown. Physical maps of the 11.5 and 6 Md plasmids were constructed on the basis of restriction analysis. The obtained results can be used for identification and differentiation of Clostridium botulinum strains and in further molecular biological experiments with this organism.

[Connection of outer membrane protein composition in Yersinia pestis cells with intrinsic plasmids]. / Sviaz' belkovogo sostava naruzhnykh membran kletok Yersinia pestis s nositel'stvom sobstvennykh plazmid.

A set of isogenic derivatives of Yersinia pestis EV strain was obtained including the variants harbouring the different compositions of Yersinia own plasmids. The protein profiles of outer membranes of the set of strains were defined. The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis has shown the small 6.1 Md plasmid to code an outer membrane protein with mol mass 29 kDa, different from pesticin I, while the heavy 60.0 Md plasmid encodes the 15-16 kDa polypeptide different from monomers of F1 and T-antigens of plague microbe.

[Localization of the structural gene for botulinum neurotoxin type A using synthetic DNA probe for neurotoxin light chain]. / Poisk lokalizatsii strukturnogo gena botulinicheskogo neirotoksina tipa A s ispol'zovaniem sinteticheskogo DNK-zonda k legkoi tsepi neirotoksina.

To obtain the information on the genetic control of toxin production in the botulism causative agents, the oligonucleotides were synthesized as the molecular probes by translation of the amino acid sequence of the botulinic type A neurotoxin. The optimal conditions for hybridization of botulinic DNA with the synthetic DNA probes were determined and the probes specificity was demonstrated. The DNA fragments homologous to the probes used were shown to belong to bacterial genome, but not to bacteriophage one.

[Principles of optimization and scaling of certain processes in the vaccine production technology. 3. Method of determination of the optimal method of thermal sterilization of sugar solutions]. / Printsipy optimizatsii i masshtabirovaniia nekotorykh protsessov v tekhnologii vaktsinnykh proizvodstv. Soobshchenie 3. Metodika opredeleniia optimal'nogo rezhima termicheskoi sterilizatsii rastvorov sakharov.

One of the most widespread methods of thermal sugar sterilization is the use of saturated water vapour under pressure in the capacity of heat source. Guaranteed sterility of solutions should be reached under conditions providing the least sugar splitting. However, in practice the integral effect of the thermal field on the solution is as a rule not taken into consideration. A new calculation method permitting to determine the amount of sugar split in the varying thermal field.

[Assessment of the findings of fibrogastroscopy with gastrobiopsy and determination of hexokinase activity in the serum and gastric juice of stomach ulcer patients]. / Otsenka dannykh fibrogastroskopii s gastrobiopsiei i opredeleniia aktivnosti geksokinazy v syvorotke i zheludochnom soke bol'nykh iazvoi zheludka

To compare the results of fibrogastroscopic study and to determine the activity of hexokinase (HK) in gastric juice 113 persons were examined 89 of them having ulcerous disease. The control group comprised 24 healthy individuals. The data obtained indicated that in the control group the activity of HK was not found in any portion of the gastric juice. In patients with ulcerous disease the presence of the enzyme was noted in 36 of 89 subjects. In two of them malignant transformation of the ulcer was observed. Patients with gastric ulcer, who show HK activity in any gastric juice portion, seem to be assessed as gastric cancer high-risk group.