Maternal and paternal diversity in Xinjiang Kazakh population from China.

The ancient silk road of China passed through Xinjiang and facilitated gene exchanges from the East and the West which impacted on the genetic variation and structure of the nomadic Kazakh population residing there. In order to understand the nature of this genetic variation; 151 Xinjiang Kazakh samples were obtained from four main Kazakh groups and were analyzed using mtDNA and Y-chromosome markers. The Xinjiang Kazakh population is heterogeneous, showing the coexistence of matrilineal lineages with different origins. No genetic differentiation of mtDNA is observed among the four different regional Xinjiang Kazakh populations in Xinjiang by AMOVA and Networks. The genetic diversity of Y-STR loci is higher in Xinjiang Kazakhs (0.968 ± 0.014) than the Kazakhs from Kazakhstan (0.629 ± 0.071) and Russia (0.835 ± 0.020). East Eurasians make a more than 50% contribution to the maternal and paternal lineages of Xinjiang Kazakhs. There is more gene flow from West Eurasian into the maternal lineages of Xinjiang Kazakh than to the Kazakhs from Russia and Kazakhstan. Moreover, mtDNA and Y-STR displayed high polymorphism in Xinjiang Kazakhs (the haplotype diversity and power of discrimination were 0.990 ± 0.003, 0.9137 for mtDNA HVS and 0.968 ± 0.014, 0.9489 for Y-STR system, respectively), suggesting they would be very useful and important markers for forensic analysis and population genetic studies.

Alpha-crystallin promotes assembly of a trimeric form of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Hsp16.3 in a cell free system.

Hsp16.3, a small heat shock protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis proposed to form specific trimer-of-trimers structures, acts as a molecular chaperone in vitro. The assembly mechanisms of this oligomeric protein were studied using in vitro transcription/translation systems. Analysis using a combination of non-denaturing pore gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and size-exclusion chromatography demonstrates that the predominant form of Hsp16.3 produced in the in vitro transcription/translation system is the trimer. Our result indicated that alpha-crystallin (molecular chaperone) remarkably promotes the trimer assembly of Hsp16.3, but does not convert the trimeric form to nonameric form. An "inert" Hsp16.3 dimer, which does not seem to participate in trimer assembly but may be involved in forming other forms of Hsp16.3, was also detected in the in vitro expression system. A latent phase of ~10 min in the appearance of the first detectable species indicated that Hsp16.3 assembly did not occur co-translationally.

[Hydrogen peroxide--a marker for respiratory tract inflammation in patients with bronchial asthma]. / Perekis' vodoroda kak marker vospaleniia dykhatel'nykh putei u bol'nykh bronkhial'noi astmoi.

AIM: To test H2O2 as a marker of respiratory tract inflammation in patients with bronchial asthma (BA). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study entered 70 patients (20 males and 50 females) with atopic asthma (AA) aged 18 to 62 years (mean age 32.6 years). H2O2 concentration in the expired air (CEA) was determined spectrophotometrically (Gallati & Pracht, 1985), content of eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) in blood--with radioimmunoassay kits (Pharmacia & Upjohn, Sweden). Forced expiratory volume per 1 second (FEV1) was used for assessment of severity of bronchial obstruction. Bronchial hyperreactivity was studied by means of the histamine bronchoprovocative test. RESULTS: H2O2 in CEA in BA patients was higher than in healthy subjects (0.127 +/- 0.010 microm/l vs 0.024 +/- 0.004 microm/l). H2O2 concentration significantly correlates with FEV1 (r = -0.449; p < 0.001), bronchial hyperreactivity to histamine (rs = -0.382; p < 0.05) and ECP in blood plasma(r = 0.625; p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: It was proved possible to use H2O2 in CEA for evaluation of respiratory inflammation in BA patients.