Thalidomide and a thalidomide analogue inhibit endothelial cell proliferation in vitro.

Angiogenesis is a crucial process in inflammatory reactions as well as in tumor implantation and growth. Tumors with high rates of invasion and recurrence such as gliomas, are specially dependent on neovascularization. This suggests that inhibition of angiogenesis might reduce the growth of these tumors. Thalidomide has been previously shown to inhibit angiogenesis induced by basic fibroblast growth factor in vivo, using the rabbit corneal micropocket assay. Therefore, the effect of thalidomide and a thalidomide analogue (cc-1069) on the proliferation in vitro of endothelial and glioma cells was tested. We observed a decrease in endothelial cell proliferation in cultures treated with thalidomide or the thalidomide analogue cc-1069. The analogue inhibited endothelial cell proliferation more efficiently than thalidomide. The inhibition occurred in association with a marked decrease in the activity of the nuclear factor SP1 and a moderate inhibition of NF-kappaB activation in nuclear extracts of endothelial cells. The drugs did not impair cell viability. There was no effect of thalidomide or the thalidomide analogue on the proliferation of the glioma cell line (U251) in vitro.

Generation of a radial-like glial cell line.

Rat C6 glioma is a cell line that has been used extensively as a model of astroglia. Although this cell line retains many of the properties of developing glia, it does not resemble morphologically the specialized form of glia found embryonically, the radial glia. In experiments designed to study a mutant form of receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase beta, we isolated a subclone of C6 called C6-R which, like radial glia, assumes a highly polarized radial-like morphology in culture. C6-R cells and, to a somewhat lesser extent, C6 cells, express cytoskeletal proteins found in developing astroglia including glial fibrillary acidic protein and RC1. As seen with radial glia, cerebellar granule cell bodies and neurites migrated along radial processes of C6-R cells in culture. Morphological analysis of dye-labeled cells injected into the developing forebrain revealed that a large fraction (approximately 60%) of the C6-R cells in the cortex assumed a radial orientation and about half of these (approximately 30%) made contact with the pial surface. In contrast, the parental C6 cells generally formed aggregates and only displayed a radial alignment when associated with blood vessels. These results suggest that we have generated a stable cell line from C6 glioma which has adopted certain key features of radial glia, including the ability to promote neuronal migration in culture and integrate radially in vivo in response to local cues. This cell line may be particularly useful for studying receptors on radial glia that mediate neuronal migration.

[The immune status of children with differing intensities of caries]. / Immunnyi status u detei s razlichnoi intensivnost'iu kariesa.

The present paper reports on the results of the studies of the quantity, functional activity of immunocytes and interrelation between their parameters in healthy children (12-14) with healthy periodontium which were ascribed either to caries-resistant or caries-prone group. In all the subjects venous blood and mixed saliva were investigated. Immune state was described through its parameters interrelations. This yields better detection of differences in immune states of both groups.

[Immunological monitoring and correction of the immune disorders in allergic diseases in poultry growers]. / Immunologicheskii monitoring i korrektsiia immunnykh narushenii pri allergicheskikh zabolevaniiakh u ptitsevodov.

It was established that allergic diseases of poultry farmers were characterized by the shifts in immunoregulation expressed in terms of the decrease of the number of T-lymphocyte-suppressors, precursors of effectory and immunoregulatory T-lymphocytes, reduction of functional actifity of T- and B-cells along with an increase in the content of B-lymphocytes with antibody-dependent killers' sensitization and suppression of nonspecific protective factors. The results suggested that the use of immunomodulatory drugs helped to improve clinicoimmunologic indicators.

[Chronic T-cell lymphoid leukemia with helper cell phenotype]. / T-kletochnyi khronicheskii limfoleikoz s khelpernym fenotipom kletok.

Tumour cells of a patient with T-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia had surface (E+, OKT3+, OKT4+, OKT8-, SIg-, Ia-) and cytochemical (properties positive reaction to acid phosphatase, acid nonspecific esterase and negative reaction to terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase) specific for T-helper lymphocytes. They had no activity of NK and K-cells, reacted weakly to mitogens (PHA, Con A, PWM) and allogenic cells. Con A and PWM stimulated synthesis of specific receptors (OKT3 and OKT4) on the surface of malignant cells, whereas PHA decreased the amount of above receptors.

[Isolation of purified populations of T- and B-lymphocytes under clinical conditions]. / Vydelenie ochishchennykh populiatsii T- i B-limfotsitov v klinicheskikh usloviiakh.

The authors present comparative characteristics of the methods of isolation of T- and B-lymphocytes in patients with chronic renal insufficiency. T-lymphocytes were obtained on columns with neilon cotton wool. B-cells were fractionated by repeated centrifugation in the gradient of phycol-urotrast density after staging E-rosette formation with the total lymphocyte pool. Methodical peculiarities of single-stage and two-stage B-lymphocyte fractionation were revealed.