[Mitochondrial and lysosomal pathways of death of hepatocytes of lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis L].

Mechanisms of mitochondrial and lysosomal pathways of natural cell death in lamprey hepatocytes at the spring period of prespawning migration are described. The mitochondrial pathways (release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into cytosol and activation ofcaspases) operates according to the classical scheme known for apoptosis. The lysosomal cell death pathway connected with activation of cathepsin B has been revealed quite recently in cells in pathologies, in particular at obstruction of gallbladder and bile ducts. The peculiarity of lamprey hepatocytes consists in biliary atresia (the absence both of gallbladder and of bile ducts) in liver of adult animals. Thereby the lamprey hepatocytes represent an excellent object for study of this new pathway of cell death. We have revealed a parallel development of the mitochondrial and lysosomal pathways of cell death of lamprey hepatocytes.

Z,E-isomerization mechanism for N-arylthio-1,4-benzoquinonimines: DNMR and DFT investigations.

Z,E-isomerization has been investigated for the series of the N-arylthio-1,4-benzoquinonimines using a line shape analysis in the (1)H NMR spectra. Thermodynamic parameters and substituent effects have been analyzed for the isomerization process. It has been shown based on the DFT (B3LYP) calculations that the dynamic transformation for N-arylthio-1,4-benzoquinonimines should be considered as a combination of the two different processes, a rotation about the N-S bond and an inversion at nitrogen via the transition state with the linear C=N-S moiety. The free energies of activation for the isomerization (DeltaG(298 K)) measured experimentally depend on the substitution in the quinonimine moiety and phenyl ring and can be referred either to the inversion of the nitrogen atom or to the hindered rotation about the N-S bond.