[Predictive value of blood serum cytokines in patients with supratentorial meningiomas].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a predictive role of blood serum cytokines and their effect on a clinical picture of patients with supratentorial meningiomas. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Levels of interleukin-4, interleukin-6 and γ-interferon were measured in 26 patients using immunoenzymatic method. Assessment of a predictive role of cytokine levels was carried out by a method of the analysis of multidimensional data and cluster analysis on the basis of Kokhonen's neural network. Correlation between cytokine level and scores on the Karnovsky scale at discharge from hospital was used as an indicator of treatment efficacy. RESULTS: The changes in interleukin-4 level had no impact on a clinical condition of patients while the fluctuations of blood serum played a significant role. CONCLUSION: To predict clinical condition and timely treatment correction in patients with supratentorial meningiomas, monitoring of interleukin-6 and γ-interferon levels is needed.

[Changes in the cytokine profile in patients with supratentorial meningiomas].

To evaluate prospects of immunocorrection in the treatment of patients with supratentorial meningiomas, we studied blood serum levels of interleukins 2, 4, 6, 10, 17, interferons α, Β, γ, heat shock proteins HSP60, HSP70 using ELISA. A study included 32 patients with supratentorial meningiomas in the presurgical period and a control group of 38 patients with lumbar disc hernias. We found the multidirectional changes in the cytokine profile that demonstrated the existence of immune imbalance in patients with meningiomas. There was the increase in the levels of Β-interferon, HSP60, interleukin 6 with the simultaneous decrease in α- and γ-interferons levels. The imbalance of cytokines in patients with meningiomas can have a negative impact on a clinical picture of the disease and worsen results of surgical treatment of tumors. To prevent secondary infectious complications after surgery, we recommend to administer glucocorticoids to decrease levels of interleukin 6 and α-interferon in the presurgical period.

Restriction of transpiration rate under high vapour pressure deficit and non-limiting water conditions is important for terminal drought tolerance in cowpea.

Drought stress is a major constraint on cowpea productivity, since the crop is grown under warm conditions on sandy soils having low water-holding capacity. For enhanced performance of crops facing terminal drought stress, like cowpea, water-saving strategies are crucial. In this work, the growth and transpiration rate (TR) of 40 cowpea genotypes with contrasting response to terminal drought were measured under well-watered conditions across different vapour pressure deficits (VPD) to investigate whether tolerant and sensitive genotypes differ in their control of leaf water loss. A method is presented to indirectly assess TR through canopy temperature (CT) and the index of canopy conductance (Ig). Overall, plants developed larger leaf area under low than under high VPD, and there was a consistent trend of lower plant biomass in tolerant genotypes. Substantial differences were recorded among genotypes in TR response to VPD, with tolerant genotypes having significantly lower TR than sensitive ones, especially at times with the highest VPD. Genotypes differed in TR response to increasing VPD, with some tolerant genotypes exhibiting a clear VPD breakpoint at about 2.25 kPa, above which there was very little increase in TR. In contrast, sensitive genotypes presented a linear increase in TR as VPD increased, and the same pattern was found in some tolerant lines, but with a smaller slope. CT, estimated with thermal imagery, correlated well with TR and Ig and could therefore be used as proxy for TR. These results indicate that control of water loss discriminated between tolerant and sensitive genotypes and may, therefore, be a reliable indicator of terminal drought stress tolerance. The water-saving characteristics of some genotypes are hypothesised to leave more soil water for pod filling, which is crucial for terminal drought adaptation.