[Wide range of the use of natural lipases and esterases to inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis]. / O vozmozhnostiakh primeneniia prirodnykh lipaz i ésteraz dlia ingibirovaniia Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Lipases and/or esterases (hereinafter referred to as esterases) isolated from the wax moth (Galleria mellonella) were found to have a bacteriological action on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MBT) H37Rv. Different types of raw esterase preparations (REP) were incubated with MBT at 37 degrees C for 18 hours, the incubate was seeded on the Finn-II solid medium or intraperitoneally injected into guinea pigs in a single dose of 100,000,000 bacteria. There was no growth of MBT in the medium within 8 weeks, some variants of REP causing a destruction of the medium for 3-7 days. This "toxic" effect on the lipid-containing Finn-II medium could be lowered by the simplest techniques for purifying esterases. In the experimental guinea pigs, a tuberculous process substantially regressed: autopsy of control animals at interval of 3-6 weeks after inoculation with native MBT showed the typical picture of progressive generalized tuberculosis; at the same time a visible pathology was not noted in the animals contaminated with MBT incubated with esterases. At week 7, control guinea pigs died; the onset of a tuberculous process was observed in experimental guinea pigs at week 8. An attempt to reveal the therapeutical effect of REP on guinea pigs with tuberculosis in a direct experiment failed. At the same time, there was a low toxicity of REP (in the used doses) for guinea pigs and B10.A(4R) mice. Based on their own findings and some data available in the literature, the authors have arrived at the following provisory conclusions: the studied REPs contain mammalian lysosomal lipase-type enzymes that determine the bacteriostatic and, perhaps, bacteriolytic effect of REP shown on MBT in vitro; there is evidence for promises of continued detailed studies of natural esterases for searching new antituberculous agents. A program of investigations of the studied and other natural esterases has been developed by taking into account the authors' developments and know-how. The study may be regarded as part of global unselected screening of biological and other materials for detecting new promising sources of drugs.

[Cross reactivity and amino acid structural homology of immunodominant peptide fragments of structural viruses from the human retroviruses HTLV-I, HTLV-II, HIV-1, and HIV-2]. / Perekrestnaia reaktivnost' i gomologiia aminokislotnoi struktury immunodominantnykh peptidnykh fragmentov strukturnykh belkov retrovirusov cheloveka HTLV-1, HTLV-II, HIV-1 i HIV-2.

Twelve synthetic peptides corresponding to 9 immunodominant regions of structural proteins of human retroviruses HTLV-I, HIV-1, and HIV-2 were studied in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for cross reactivity with heterotypical for each peptide anti-retroviral antibodies. The search of amino acid homologies was carried using the special computer program followed by the correspondence analysis of the discovered homologies and immunodominant fragments. It was found that peptides 100-130 p19 gag HTLV-I, 376-392 gp21 env HTLV-I, 381-400 gp21 env HTLV-I, 306-328 gp120 env HIV-1, 495-516 gp120 env HIV-1, 584-612 gp41 env HIV-1, and 581-603 gp36 env HIV-2 have type-specific reactivity and also cross react with 3-54% human sera containing antibodies against heterotypical retroviruses. On the other hand, peptides 120-130 p19 gag HTLV-I, 176-201 gp46 env HTLV-I, 291-312 gp46 env HTLV-I, 330-363 p24 gag HIV-1, and 602-624 gp41 env HIV-1 have shown no cross reactive properties; they may be effectively used for type-specific and differential serodiagnosis of human retroviral infections.

[Immunoreactivity of synthetic peptides, corresponding to B-cellular epitopes of human type I T-lymphotrophic virus structural proteins]. / Immunoreaktivnost' sinteticheskikh peptidov, sootvetstvuiushchikh B-kletochnym épitopam strukturnykh belkov T-limfotropnogo virusa cheloveka I tipa.

The immunoreactivity of 25 synthetic peptides corresponding to amino acid fragments of the HTLV-I structural proteins p19 gag, gp46 and gp21 env were studied in enzyme linked immunosorbent assay using a serum panel of 70 reference positive specimens with anti-HTLV-I antibodies. The location of the synthetic peptides containing the B-cell epitopes of HTLV-I was established. Anti-HTLV-I antibodies effectively recognized these peptides. The significance of some amino acids for forming the HTLV-I antigenic determinants was estimated. The synthetic peptides with amino acid sequences 100-130 p19 gag and 176-201 gp46 env were found to have most immunoreactivity (90-99% recognition by sera of HTLV-I infected patients) and mimic the immunodominant B-cell epitopes of HTLV-I structural proteins.

[A synthetic peptide-based immunoenzyme test system for the joint detection of human retrovirus (HTLV-1 and HIV-1) antibodies]. / Immunofermentnaia test-sistema dlia sochetannogo vyiavleniia antitel k retrovirusam cheloveka (HTLV-1 i HIV-1) na osnove sinteticheskikh peptidov.

The study was made to develop an immunodiagnostic test system based on synthetic peptides able to detect in the same assay the total concentration of heterospecific antibodies against human retroviruses HTLV-1 and HIV-1. Three panels of reference-sera contained antibodies to HTLV-1 (70 specimens), HIV-1 (50 and 16 specimens) and 4 synthetic peptides corresponding to protein fragments p19 gag and gp46 env HTLV-1, gp120 and gp41 env HIV-1. Immune reactivity of the peptides with reference sera was measured in the immunoassay. It is established that relevant peptides mimic immunodominant B-epitopes of structural proteins HTLV-1 and HIV-1 and are recognized specifically by relevant antiviral antibodies. The enzyme immunoassay test system has been designed using a peptide combination in a single antigen complex. The system showed high diagnostic sensitivity.

[Genetic and oncologic characteristics of CBA/CaLacSto mice]. / Geneticheskaia i onkologicheskaia kharakteristika myshei kinii CBA/CaLacSto.

400 male and female CBA/CaLacSto mice were analyzed from the age of two months to their death. The spontaneous malignancy incidence of frequency in this line amounted to 76.3% with prevailing hepatomas (65%), neoplasms of lung, fat tissue. Homozygosity of CBA/CaLacSto mice was revealed in all the gene under test.

[Effect of estradiol dipropionate on the development of uterine sarcoma induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine in mice]. / Vliianie éstradiola dipropionata na razvitie sarkom matki, vyzyvaemykh 1,2-dimetilgidrazinom u myshei.

The study was concerned with the influence of single dose of estradiol dipropionate on its promoting effect on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced tumors in female CBA/CaLac mice. Estradiol dipropionate given within 19 weeks did not affect carcinogenesis whereas 39-week treatment stimulated uterine sarcoma development irrespective of single dose and schedule of administration.

[Genetic and oncological characteristics of CC57BR/Mv mice]. / Geneticheskaia i onkologicheskaia kharakteristika myshei linii CC57BR/Mv.

The incidence of spontaneous malignancies in this line was 21.3% with predominance of haemoblastoses, adenomas of the lungs and liver. The study of the genetic character revealed homozygosis of mice CC57BR in all test genes.

[The immunobiological role of alloantigens of host tissue compatibility in the structure of oncornaviruses]. / Ob immunobiologicheskoi roli alloantigenov tkanevoi sovmestimosti khoziaina v strukture onkornavirusov

H-2 antigens of mouse cells were shown to be incorporated into the Rauscher virus virion structure. Alloantibody to these antigens neutralized the infectious activity of the virus. Active immunization of mice with H-2 alloantigens reduces susceptibility of the animals to the virus. The experimental results suggest that alloantigens of host tissue compatibility incorporated into the virion membrane determine important immuno-biological properties of Rauscher virus.

Cell surface antigens detected in cell lines established from lymphomatous Papio hamadryas and Macaca arctoides monkeys.

Cell surface antigens associated with bone marrow cell cultures from leukemic monkeys of species Papio hamadryas and Macacus arctoides were visualized by means of an indirect immunofluorescence method with sera from leukemic baboons. The same immune serum gave two types of immunofluorescence, depending on the origin of the target cells. Fluorescence of the ring-reaction type was seen with Papio hamadryas bone marrow cell cultures growing in suspension and containing the baboon herpesvirus, whereas the patchy type of fluorescence was noted with monolayer bone marrow cell cultures from Macaca arctoides origin, containing type-C oncornavirus but not the herpesvirus particles. Absorption experiments showed that antibodies responsible for the patchy type of immunofluorescence could be absorbed with a disintegrated type-C baboon oncornavirus, and not with baboon lymphoblastoid cell lines containing the herpesvirus nor with human lymphoblastoid cell lines containing the Epstein-Barr virus.