[Features of surgical treatment of central tracheal and bronchial carcinoid]. / Osobennosti khirurgicheskogo lecheniya tsentral'nogo kartsinoida trakhei i bronkhov.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze features of surgical treatment of central tracheal and bronchial carcinoid. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis included 115 patients with carcinoid tracheal and bronchial tumors who have been examined and treated from 1974 to the present. The majority of patients (97, 84.3%) had central form of carcinoid of the trachea, bronchi and lungs. Of these, 95 (97.9%) ones underwent surgical treatment. RESULTS: We used pre- and intraoperative diagnostics including bronchotomy. This approach provided organ-sparing surgery with resection and reconstruction of the bronchi and trachea in 71 (74.7%) patients including complete preservation of lung function in 20 (21.1%) cases and lobectomy/segmentectomy with resection and reconstruction of the bronchi in 51 (53.7%) cases. Two patients underwent pneumonectomy with wedge-shaped and marginal resection and reconstruction of tracheal bifurcation. Postoperative complications developed in 4 (4.2%) patients, and 2 (2.1%) ones died. Overall 5-year survival after radical surgeries was 89.2% (100% in typical carcinoid and 78.0% in atypical carcinoid).

Lactobacillus crispatus DSM25988 as novel bioactive agent to co-aggregate Streptococcus pyogenes and to exclude it by binding to human cells.

Streptococcus pyogenes, a group A streptococcus, is the major bacterial pathogen responsible for acute bacterial infection of the human oropharynx and the causative agent of scarlet fever. Estimates of the global burden of S. pyogenes related diseases revealed 616 million cases of pharyngitis, and at least 517,000 deaths due to severe invasive diseases and sequelae. Here we describe Lactobacillus crispatus DSM25988 that was identified among hundreds of Lactobacillus strains (referring to all organisms that were classified as Lactobacillaceae until 2020) showing ability to prevent adhesion of S. pyogenes to Detroit 562 cells, and to exhibit a masking and co-aggregating effect on S. pyogenes in vitro. L. crispatus DSM25988 also inhibits invasion of cultured human epithelial pharyngeal cells by S. pyogenes. Competitive binding to fibronectin might be involved in the inhibition process. Antiviral activity of the L. crispatus DSM25988 cells were identified in an in vitro cell model demonstrating that L. crispatus effectively excludes viruses from epithelial cells using SARS-CoV2 proteins as a model. This finding points to the potential of DSM25988 to protect cells from virus infection. Biological activity is retained in heat treated cells. The heat-treated Lactobacillus strain was further developed into functional throat lozenges, wherein its biological activity is stably maintained in the formulation. Lozenges containing L. crispatus DSM25988 underwent testing in an uncontrolled, prospective user study in 44 subjects with symptoms of sore throat for a period of up to 14 days. The study data shows promising safety and efficacy of the medical device when used against symptoms of sore throat like scratchy feeling, hoarse voice and swallowing pain.

Observation of dynamic charge stripes in Tm0.19Yb0.81B12 at the metal-insulator transition.

Accurate low temperature charge transport measurements in combination with high-precision x-ray diffraction experiments have allowed detection of the symmetry lowering in the single domain Tm0.19Yb0.81B12 crystals that belong to the family of dodecaborides with metal-insulator transition. Based on the fine structure analysis we discover the formation of dynamic charge stripes within the semiconducting matrix of Tm0.19Yb0.81B12. The charge dynamics in these conducting nano-size channels is characterized by broad-band optical spectroscopy that allowed estimating the frequency (~2.4 × 1011 Hz) of quantum motion of the charge carriers. It is suggested that cooperative Jahn-Teller effect in the boron sublattice is a cause of the large-amplitude rattling modes of the Tm and Yb ions responsible for the 'modulation' of the conduction band along one of the [Formula: see text] directions through the variation of 5d-2p hybridization of electron states.

Ah-receptor-independent stimulation of hepatoma 27 culture cell proliferation by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The proliferative effect of some compounds that are aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor ligands was studied on hepatoma 27 cells with absent expression of Ah receptor. Compounds of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) class benzo/a/pyrene, 3-methylcholanthrene, 7,12-dimethylbenz/a/anthracene, and benzo/e/pyrene as well as ß-naphthoflavone (ß-NF) and chlorinated hydrocarbon Aroclor 1254 were studied. It was found that carcinogenic PAH and ß-NF stimulate cell proliferation both under conditions of standard serum content and in a medium with low serum content. More efficient stimulation of proliferation was observed in the case of low serum content. Aroclor 1254 and benzo/e/pyrene did not stimulate cell proliferation. Stimulation of proliferation was accompanied by activation of the ERK1/2-dependent MAP-kinase cascade. Benzo/a/pyrene caused a decrease in the number of cells in G1 phase of the cell cycle and increase in number of cells in G2/M phases under conditions of cell growth in media with low serum content. Carcinogenic PAH and ß-NF activated transcription factor AP-1, and in this case activation was more pronounced in cells grown in medium with low serum content. A possible mechanism of activation of proliferation by an Ah receptor-independent pathway is discussed.

[Ah receptor-independent inhibition of gap junction intercellular communications in hepatoma cell culture 27 by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons].

One of the systems that regulate tissue homeostatis is gap junction intercellular communications (GJIC). Inhibition of GJIC is widely used in experiments as a characteristic of tumor promotion. It is accepted that the down-regulation of GJIC is tightly related with the tumor-promoting properties of carcinogens. In this study, the effect of some carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on GJIC in cell cultures of hepatoma 27 lacking cytochrome P450 and Ah receptor was investigated. It was shown that inter 6 compounds studied only benzo/a/pyren and 3-methylcholanthrene were able to inhibit GJIC. We have concluded that an unknown factor is present in hepatoma cells and its interaction with some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons results in GJIC inhibition. The investigation of mutual effect of benzo/a/pyrene and non carcinogenic benzo/e/pyrene with similar structure has shown that GJIC inhibition by benzo/a/pyrene is at least double stepped.

Benzo[a]pyrene-dependent activation of transcription factors NF-kappaB and AP-1 related to tumor promotion in hepatoma cell cultures.

The activation by the carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) benzo[a]pyrene (BP) of transcription factors NF-kappaB and AP-1 in hepatoma 27 and HepG2 cell cultures was studied. In contrast to the hepatoma HepG2 cells, cytochrome P450 isoforms and Ah-receptor are not expressed in the hepatoma 27 cells. The transcription factor NF-kappaB was activated only in the hepatoma 27 cells by BP treatment but not by its noncarcinogenic isomer benzo[e]pyrene (BeP). Conversely to NF-kappaB activation the transcription factor AP-1 was activated in the hepatoma HepG2 cells by cell treatment with BP but not in the hepatoma 27 cells. It is concluded that the NF-kappaB activation is caused by nonmetabolized BP molecule and not related to activation of the Ah-receptor. The transcription factor AP-1 seems to be activated as a result of the interaction of BP with the Ah-receptor. The realization of tumor promotion stage by carcinogenic PAHs treatment in dependence on the cytochrome P450 and Ah-receptor levels in the initiated cells is discussed.

A human cDNA expression library in yeast enriched for open reading frames.

We developed a high-throughput technique for the generation of cDNA libraries in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae which enables the selection of cloned cDNA inserts containing open reading frames (ORFs). For direct screening of random-primed cDNA libraries, we have constructed a yeast shuttle/expression vector, the so-called ORF vector pYEXTSH3, which allows the enriched growth of protein expression clones. The selection system is based on the HIS3 marker gene fused to the C terminus of the cDNA insert. The cDNAs cloned in-frame result in histidine prototrophic yeast cells growing on minimal medium, whereas clones bearing the vector without insert or out-of-frame inserts should not grow on this medium. A randomly primed cDNA library from human fetal brain tissue was cloned in this novel vector, and using robot technology the selected clones were arrayed in microtiter plates and were analyzed by sequencing and for protein expression. In the constructed cDNA expression library, about 60% of clones bear an insert in the correct reading frame. In comparison to unselected libraries it was possible to increase the clones with inserts in the correct reading frame more than fourfold, from 14% to 60%. With the expression system described here, we could avoid time-consuming and costly techniques for identification of clones expressing protein by using antibody screening on high-density filters and subsequently rearraying the selected clones in a new "daughter" library. The advantage of this ORF vector is that, in a one-step screening procedure, it allows the generation of expression libraries enriched for clones with correct reading frames as sources of recombinant proteins.

[An analysis of the hormonal response during the performance of stress tests in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic scleroderma]. / Analiz gormonal'nogo otveta pri provedenii nagruzochnykh prob u bol'nykh sistemnoi krasnoi volchankoi i sistemnoi sklerodermiei.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic scleroderma (SSD) and donors were examined for the blood levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone, hydrocortisone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin, estradiol, testosterone, progesterone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, triiodothyronine, thyroxin, and insulin. The corticotropin load test was carried out in 38 SLE patients, 32 SSD patients and 24 donors. The prednisolone test was made in 15 SSD patients and 27 donors. The studies were made with the aid of RIA. The patients with SLE manifested a decline of the basal level of hydrocortisone as well as a reduction of the reserve potentialities of the pituitary-adrenal system. The patients with SSD demonstrated a negligible decrease of the basal level of hydrocortisone with an evident lowering of the reserves of the same system. The treatment of SLE and SSD patients with glucocorticoids was followed by marked hyperinsulinemia.