Changes in the serum levels of autoantibody to nerve growth factor in patients with schizophrenia.

Studies were performed on 54 patients with different types of schizophrenia-paranoid (8), recurrent-progressive (30), and slowly progressive (16), with ICD-10 rubrics F20.00 and F20.01, F20.22 and F20.02, and F21 respectively. An immunoenzyme method was used to demonstrate that schizophrenia patients had elevated levels of autoantibody to nerve growth factor, by a factor of 1.5 compared with a group of 70 healthy subjects. The autoantibody level was related to the stage of disease: during the active phase, there was a significant increase compared with patients in remission (1.38 +/- 0.26 and 0.92 +/- 0.25 U respectively). There were no differences between variants with different disease courses. The authors suggest that the data obtained here indicate that the autoantibody level can be used as a measure of the activity of the disease process.

[Changes in the level of autoantibodies to the nerve growth factor in the blood serum of schizophrenia patients]. / Izmenenie urovnia autoantitel k faktoru rosta nervov v syvorotke krovi bol'nykh shizofreniei.

A study was made of 54 patients with different forms of schizophrenia: paranoid (8), shift-like (30), slow-progredient (16). According to ICD-10 the rubrics were: F20.00 and F20.01; F20.22 and F20.02; F21 respectively. Elevation of the level of autoantibodies (aAB) to nerve growth factor (NGF) 1,5-fold was registered in blood serum of schizophrenic patients by means of enzyme immunoassay as compared with 70 healthy controls. The dependence of aAB level upon the stage of the disease development was found: in the active phase there was a significant increase of aAB level as compared with the patients in remission (1.38 +/- 0.26 and 0.92 +/- 0.25 units of optical density, respectively). There were no differences in respect of different forms of disease. The authors suggest to use aAB level as the index of the disease activity.

[Effects of mineral dust on generation of superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide by alveolar macrophages, granulocytes and monocytes]. / Vliianie mineral'nykh pylei na generatsiiu superoksidnykh radikalov i perekisi vodoroda al'veoliarnymi makrofagami, granulotsitami i monotsitami.

Phagocytosis of quartz dust by alveolar macrophages and monocytes of rabbits and human monocytes and granulocytes is accompanied by stimulation of substrateless recovery of nitroblue tetrazolium to formazan. It reflects activation of oxygen-dependent bactericidal phagocyte system and generation of active oxygen forms. Less fibrogenic and cytotoxic dust of aluminium oxide increased formazan formation insignificantly. Extracellular generation of superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide was not discovered during phagocytosis of quartz by alveolar macrophages and monocytes. Incubation of human granulocytes with silica caused, on contrary, considerable increase in exogenous generation of superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide. Less fibrogenic dust of aluminium oxide under the conditions had no effect on generation of hydrogen peroxide and induced acute decrease in generation of superoxide radicals by granulocytes. The obtained results testify both to the essential part of active oxygen form during pathologic processes with pneumoconiosis, and also to a great similarity among biochemical processes, characterizing interaction of alveolar macrophages and monocytes with mineral dust.

[The activation of the oxygen-dependent bactericidal system of human and rabbit monocytes by dust with different degrees of fibrogenicity]. / Issledovanie aktivatsii kislorodzavisimoi bakteritsidnoi sistemy monotsitov cheloveka i krolika pyl'iu s razlichnoi stepen'iu fibrogennosti.

Phagocytosis of quartz dusts by the monocytes of man and rabbit goes together with the stimulation of the substrate-free reduction of nitroblue tetrasolium, which reflects the activation of the cells' oxygen-depending bactericidal system. The quantity of the formasan produced increases, as compared to the control group, depending on the volume of the added dust. A less fibrogenic and cytotoxic dust of aluminum oxide causes only significant formation of formasan at the reduction of nitroblue tetrasolium. No extracellular generation of superoxide radicals and nitrogen peroxide by the cells were traced in the phagocytosis of quartz dusts by human and rabbit monocytes. The data obtained reveals a close similarity of the biochemical processes in the action of alveolar macrophages and monocytes with mineral dusts, and confirms a possibility of using the substrate-free reduction of nitroblue tetrasolium in the assessment of the hazardousness of industrial dusts.

[Adenosine cyclic-3',5'-monophosphate phosphodiesterase in hepatomas with different growth rates]. / Fosfodiésteraza tsiklicheskogo adenozin-3',5'-monofosfata v gepatomakh s razlichnoi skorost'iu rosta.

The cAMP phosphodiesterase activity in mouse hepatomas 46, 61 and 22A is established to be lower than in the normal liver. Sensitivity of enzymes to inhibitors in tumours is also lower. Dibutyryl-cAMP inhibits the growth of hepatoma 46 and leads to an increase in the functional activity of tumour cells.

[Effect of psychotropic preparations on cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity in the rat cerebral cortex]. / Vliianie psikhotropnykh preparatov na aktivnost' fosfodiésterazy tsAMF kory golovnogo mozga krysy.

Effect of various psychotropic preparations on cAMP phosphodiesterase was studied. Almost all the psychotropic drugs studied were shown to inhibit the enzymatic activity. Neuroleptics--derivatives of phenothiazine and butyrophene--caused the strongest inhibitory effect.