[The possibilities of using chondroitin sulfate in patients with chronic back pain]. / Vozmozhnosti primeneniia khondroitina sul'fata u patsientov s khronicheskoi bol'iu v spine.

AIM: To study the efficacy and safety of chondroitin sulfate (mucosat) in the treatment of chronic lower back pain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The medical documentation of 46 outpatients with chronic lumbosacral dorsalgia, who received 25 intramuscular injections of 2 ml mucosat, was studied. The assessment of patients' condition and efficacy and safety of the treatment was conducted based on the data of four visits (1-st, 10-th and 25-th day and 3 months after the end of treatment). Results of the clinical-neurological examination, pain intensity at rest and at movement according to the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the severity of Lasegue and Wasserman signs and limitation of movements in the lumbar spine were taken into account. RESULTS: The use of mucosat at a dose of 2 ml intramuscularly 1 time in 2 days led to a significant decrease in the severity of pain syndrome and increased mobility in the lumbar spine (before treatment, the level of pain at rest according to the VAS was 4.22±1.28 scores, on the 25-th day 2.13±0.24, 3 month after treatment 2.37±0.31; the level of pain at movement: 5.78±1.15; 4.56±0.47; 4.78±0.22, respectively (p<0.01). There were a reduction of the dose of previously used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the end of treatment and maintenance of the results of therapy for 3 months after the end of treatment. Good tolerability of the drug and the absence of significant side-effects were shown as well. CONCLUSION: This study showed the efficacy and safety of chondroitin sulfate (mucosat) in the treatment of outpatients with chronic lower back pain.

Specific features of immune complexes in patients with sarcoidosis and pulmonary tuberculosis.

Clinical and radiological features of tuberculosis and sarcoidosis are quite overlapping, and therefore, a diagnostic dilemma often persists. There are no commonly accepted criteria for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis due to the lack of data on the etiology of the disease. The exclusion of tuberculosis in every patient with suspected sarcoidosis is a mandatory stage of diagnosis, especially in countries with a high burden of tuberculosis. A prospective study was conducted with two groups of patients: group I (n = 50)-patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis established according to standard criteria; group II (n = 28)-patients with pulmonary tuberculosis with bacterial excretion. The control group (n = 24) was presented by healthy subjects. The examination complex included x-ray, bacteriological, immunological (Mantoux test with 2 TE, TB.SPOT test), and histological methods. All patients and healthy subjects were assessed for immune complexes with the use of the dynamic light scattering (DLS) method and adding of "healthy lung tissue extract" antigens and specific tuberculosis antigens ESAT-6 and SFP-10 in vitro. Significant differences were found in determining specific immune complexes in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis and pulmonary tuberculosis. Registration of specific immune complex formation with "healthy lung tissue extract" in 100% cases may indicate the autoimmune nature of sarcoidosis. The absence of the immune complex formation in response to ESAT-6/SFP-10 antigens can be used for the differential diagnosis of two diseases. The diagnostic significance of the DLS method was 100% for sarcoidosis and 92.2% for tuberculosis. The data obtained in the study allows not only understanding the etiology of sarcoidosis, but also obtaining new criteria for the differential diagnosis of tuberculosis and pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Biosorbents based on esterified starch carrying immobilized oil-degrading microorganisms.

The complex sorbents based on hydrophobized starch, which contain oil-degrading microorganisms, have been proposed for effective sorption and utilization of petroleum-related pollutants. The sorbents were made on the base of benzoic, lauric and stearic acid esters of starch with degrees of substitution of 0.4-1.1. The esterification of starch was carried out by the reaction with acyl chlorides of the corresponding acids in an aqueous-organic medium. The structure of the esters was studied by SEM, IR and NMR spectroscopy. As a result of porous hydrophobic structure, these sorbents are capable of binding and retention of petroleum products on the water surface, and keeping the flotation for at least 30days after the petroleum products sorption. The test of biodegradability of the obtained samples revealed that the modified starches can be degraded by microscopic fungi, therefore they do not cause secondary pollution. The cultures of yeast Rhodotorula glutinis VKM Y-2993D and bacteria Pseudomonas libanensis VKM B-3041D immobilized on the sorbent facilitate the rapid utilization of accumulated petroleum products.

[Genes encoding hevein-like antimicrobial peptides WAMPs: Expression in response to phytohormones and environmental factors].

We investigated the role of genes of hevein-like antimicrobial peptides of the WAMP family in the protection of wheat plants against biotic and abiotic stress. The semiquantitative RT-PCR method was used to examine the expression of wamp genes in wheat seedlings in response to infection by pathogens and exposure to phytohormones and ions of a heavy metal ion­cadmium. We discovered that wheat germ contamination by harmful fungi significantly increases expression of genes of the wamp family, and the primary transcript is wamp-2. We determined that salicylic acid, rather than methyl jasmonate, induces expression of genes of the wamp family. We showed that abiotic stress induced by cadmium ions inhibits expression of wamp genes in the roots with no effect on their expression in shoots. The results support the protective role of wamp genes in the response of wheat plants to infections by pathogens. In turn, the resistance to abiotic stress induced by cadmium ions does not appear to be associated with expression of genes of the wamp family.

[A single reverse mutation in the 126/183-kda replicase gene of the attenuated tomato strain V-69 of tobacco mosaic virus increases the virus pathogenicity].

To determine the roles of the mutations that were earlier found in the structure of the attenuated tomato strain V-69 of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), the nucleotide sequences of genomic RNAs of its four pathogenic revertants have been identified and analyzed. The comparison of the structures of viral genomes has demonstrated that all revertants studied have a single reverse mutation at position 1654 relative to the parental TMV strain V-69. This reversion has been introduced into the plasmid construction harboring a full-length cDNA copy of the TMV strain V-69 RNA, and the infective transcripts synthesized in vitro have been tested on TMV-sensitive tomato and tobacco plants. The tests have confirmed that the single reversion at position 1654, which changes the amino acid residue at position 528 of the 126-kDa and 183-kDa proteins of the viral replicase is responsible for the increase in the pathogenicity of revertants compared to the TMV V-69 strain. The mutation at position 1654 of the viral genome may be supposed to be the main factor of the attenuation of TMV strain V-69.

[Construction of a full-length cDNA of tobacco mosaic virus strain V-69 genome]. / Poluchenie polnorazmernoikDNK-kopii genoma virusa tabachnoi mozaili shtamma V-69.

The genome of the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) strain V-69 was sequenced by us earlier. The comparison of its nucleotide sequence with those of well-known attenuated strains (using published data) demonstrated considerable homology between strain V-69 and tomato strain L of TMV. In this study, full-length cDNA copy of TMV strain V-69 genomic RNA has been cloned in vector pBS(+) under the control of the T7 promoter and with an SmaI site at the 3'-terminus. The in vitro transcription of this construction with the use of phage T7 RNA polymerase in the presence of a cap analog (m7GpppG) has yielded an infectious RNA. This RNA has induced the same symptoms as those caused by TMV strain V-69 in infected indicator plants. Three point mutations inactivating one of two HindIII sites have been introduced into the cDNA. The absence of the HindIII site at position 1449 of the viral nucleotide sequence and the corresponding mutations serve as markers of the construction obtained. The full-length cDNA copy of the TMV strain V-69 RNA can be used both as a research tool and for constructing a vector for transit gene expression.