[Digital PCR as a Highly Sensitive Diagnostic Tool: A Review].

Digital PCR (dPCR) is a nucleic acid quantification method that is widely used in genetic analysis. One of the most significant advantages of dPCR over other methods is the possibility of absolute quantitative determination of genetic material without construction of calibration curves, which allows one to detect even single molecules of nucleic acids, and, hence, provides early diagnosis of diseases. One specific characteristic of dPCR is the detection of the analyzed biological object in each microreaction, followed by the presentation of the analysis results in a binary system, thereby giving the method its name. The key aspects of developing the dPCR method, i.e., from the first devices based on microfluidic chip technology to modern systems capable of measuring a target at a concentration of up to 1 in 100000 copies are shown in the current work. We analyzed the data on the detection of various pathogens using dPCR, as well as summarizing various study results demonstrating the innovativeness of this method. Both the possibilities of multiplex dPCR analysis and its potential in clinical practice are presented. This review also addresses the issue of the role of dPCR in the development of noninvasive methods for analysis of oncological diseases. Possible ways of developing dPCR technology were emphasized, including its use as a "point-of-care" system.

Genetic markers of children asthma: predisposition to disease course variants.

Asthma is a heterogeneous and often difficult to treat condition that results in a disproportionate cost to healthcare systems. Children with severe asthma are at increased risk for adverse outcomes including medication-related side effects, life-threatening exacerbations, and impaired quality of life. An important therapeutic focus is to achieve disease control, which is supposed to involve a personalized approach to treatment of asthma of any severity. Asthma is a multifactorial disease with a significant genetic determinant, however, the inheritance of asthma has not been fully elucidated. Polymorphic genes of inflammatory mediators, including cytokines, play an important role in developing various disease forms. In the current study, large-scale original data on the prevalence of cytokine gene genotypes (IL2, IL4, IL5, IL6, IL10, IL12, IL13, IL17A, IL31, IL33, IFNG, TNFA) among Russian children with asthma in Krasnoyarsk region have been obtained. Genotyping was carried out using real-time PCR. We identified markers predisposing to the development of different variants of the course of childhood asthma: the CT genotype and T allele of IL4 rs2243250 are associated with asthma (p < 0.05), especially in mild asthma and in controlled asthma. The TT genotype and allele T of IL13 rs1800925 are associated with severe and uncontrolled asthma (p < 0.05). The AA genotype of IL17A rs2275913, the TT genotype of IFNG rs2069705 and allelic A variants of TNFA rs1800629 are associated with mild asthma, and the TT genotype of IFNG rs2069705 is additionally associated with controlled asthma. The results obtained will supplement information on the prevalence of polymorphic variants of the cytokine genes in the Russian population and in asthma patients with different disease courses, which is likely to be used in order to shape a plan for Public Health Authority to prevent the development of severe uncontrolled asthma and to optimize personalized therapy.

Features of the distribution of the antigens of Kell, Duffy, Kidd, MNS, Lewis, Lutheran blood group systems in blood donors in the Kirov region.

The frequency of occurrence of antigens of the Kell (Kpa, Kpb), Kidd, Duffy, MNS and Lutheran systems in donors of the Kirov region corresponds to the distribution of antigens characteristic of white Europeans. Antigens K (Kell system) and Lea (Lewis system) are detected in the population of the region much less frequently, antigen Leb (Lewis system) - more often than in the population of Europe. The presence of a registry of donors typed according to a wide range of red blood antigens is a prerequisite for the immunohematological safety of blood transfusions.

Prevalence of the polymorphic H-f icolin (FCN3) genes and mannose-binding lectin-associated serine protease-2 (MASP2) in indigenous populations from the Russian Arctic regions.

Lectins, being the main proteins of the lectin pathway activating the complement system, are encoded by polymorphic genes, wherein point mutations cause the protein conformation and expression to change, which turns out to have an effect on the functionality and ability to respond to the pathogen. In the current study, largescale data on the population genotype distribution of the genes for H-ficolin FCN3 rs28357092 and mannose-binding lectin-associated serine protease MASP2 rs72550870 among the indigenous peoples of the Russian Arctic regions (Nenets, Dolgans and Nganasans, a mixed population and Russians: a total sample was about 1000 newborns) have been obtained for the first time. Genotyping was carried out using RT-PCR. The frequency of the homozygous variant del/del FCN3 rs28357092 associated with the total absence of the most powerful activator of the lectin complement pathway, N-ficolin, was revealed; 0 % in the Nenets, 0.8 % in the Dolgans and Nganasans, and 3.5 % among the Russians ( p < 0.01). Analysis of the prevalence of the MASP2 genotypes has shown the predominance of the homozygous variant AA in all studied populations, which agrees with the available world data. The heterozygous genotype AG rs72550870 associated with a reduced level of protease was found to occur rarely in the Nenets, Dolgans and Nganasans compared to newborns of Caucasoid origin from Krasnoyarsk: 0.5 % versus 3.3 %, respectively. Moreover, among 323 examined Nenets, one AG carrier was identified, whereas in Russians, 16 out of 242 examined newborns were found to be AG carriers ( p < 0.001). A homozygous variant (GG) in total absence of protease with impaired binding of both MBL and ficolins was not detected in any of the 980 examined newborns. An additional analysis of infectious morbidity in Arctic populations allows one to find phenotypic characteristics related to a high functional activity of the lectin pathway of complement activation as an most important factor for the first-line of anti-infectious defense, including such new viral diseases as COVID-19.

[Polymorphism of the mannose-binding lectin gene in the Arctic indigenous populations of the Russian Federation]. / Полиморфизм гена маннозосвязывающего лектина у ÐºÐ¾Ñ€ÐµÐ½Ð½Ñ‹Ñ Ð¿Ð¾Ð¿ÑƒÐ»ÑÑ†Ð¸Ð¹ территорий Арктической зоны Российской Федерации.

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a pattern recognizing acute-phase protein of the innate immunity system actively involved in the elimination of a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms by activating the lectin pathway of the complement system. A significant part of the human population has a congenitally low production level and/or low MBL activity due to the carriage of various MBL2 variants, which can modify the course of a wide range of infectious diseases. The genotype and haplotype frequencies of the MBL2 polymorphisms have significant population differences. So far, data on the prevalence of the MBL2 genotypes in indigenous populations of the Russian Arctic regions have not been available. The aim of the study was to analyze the frequency and ethnic specificity of the distribution of allelic variants of the MBL2 polymorphisms rs11003125, rs7096206, rs7095891, rs5030737, rs1800450 and rs1800451 and their haplotypes in the populations of the Taimyr Dolgans-Nenets region of the Krasnoyarsk territory (Nenets, Dolgans-Nganasans, Russians). Data on the genotype and haplotype frequencies of the MBL2 gene among indigenous peoples of the Russian Arctic territories was first obtained in the study. The HYPA haplotype prevalence associated with a high concentration of MBL amounted to 35.4 % for Russian newborns in Eastern Siberia, corresponding to the one for European populations (27-33 %). In newborns of the Arctic populations, the prevalence of HYPA haplotype was significantly higher than in Russians and amounted to 64 % for Nenets and 56 % for the DolgansNganasans, which is close to the one detected for the Eskimos and North American Indians (64-81 %). Populations of Nenets and Dolgans-Nganasans demonstrated a significantly lower prevalence of MBL-deficient haplotypes compared with Caucasians of Eastern Siberia (3.9, 6.4 and 21.3 % respectively). Isolated Arctic populations were suggested to experience some intracellular infections (tuberculosis, leprosy) historically later and, unlike Caucasoid populations, to retain the high activity of the lectin complement activation pathway formed in the early stages of human evolution.

[Oxitocin is a hormone of trust and emotional attachment: the influence on behavior of children and adolescents]. / Oksitotsin - neirogormon doveriia i émotsional'noi priviazannosti: vliianie na povedenie u detei i podrostkov.

This review presents current data on the mechanisms of production and reception of oxytocin and its effect on the socio-emotional aspects of behavior in different age periods of childhood and adolescence. The main hormonal role of oxytocin is to regulate the process of carrying a fetus, childbirth and lactation, as well as the establishment of social connections from the infancy period (connection with parents with a child) throughout childhood to adolescence and adult periods of life. Its central action takes the most important part in cognitive, emotional and behavioral processes. In addition, oxytocin plays a role in the regulation of food and sexual behavior, in the mechanisms of visceral hypersensitivity and pain perception. The analysis of publications covering the most important role of oxytocin in the formation of the emotional interaction between parents and children in different age periods: infancy, preschool and adolescence was carried out. A brief analysis of genetically determined features of the production and reception of oxytocin and their role in the regulation of behavioral responses is presented. In addition, the review briefly highlights aspects of the likely involvement of oxytocin in the mechanisms of formation of certain psychopathological conditions in children and adolescents.

[Hepatobiliary System Diseases as the Predictors of Psoriasis Progression].

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To assess the state of the hepatobiliary system in psoriasis andpsoriatic arthritis in order to establish a causal relationship and to identify clinical and functional predictors of psoriatic disease progression. METHODS: The study includedpatients with extensive psoriasis vulgaris (n = 175) aged 18 to 66 years old and healthy donors (n = 30), matched by sex and age: Group 1--patients with psoriasis (PS, n = 77), group 2--patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA, n = 98), group 3--control. The evaluation of functional state of the hepatobiliary system was performed by the analysis of the clinical and anamnestic data and by the laboratory-instrumental methods. RESULTS: We identified predictors of psoriasis: triggers (stress and nutritionalfactor), increased total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, eosinophilia, giardiasis, carriers of hepatitis C virus, ductal changes andfocal leisons in the liver, thickening of the walls of the gallbladder detected by ultrasound. Predictors ofpsoriatic arthritis: age over 50 years, dyspeptic complaints, the presence of hepatobiliary system diseases, the positive right hypochondrium syndrome, the clinical symptoms of chronic cholecystitis, excess body weight, high levels of bilirubin, cholesterol and low density lipoprotein, hepatomegaly, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. CONCLUSION: High activity of hepatocytes cytolysis, cholestasis, inflammation, metabolic disorders let us considerpsoriatic arthritis as a severe clinical stage psoriatic disease when the hepatobiliary system, in turn, is one of the main target organs in systemic psoriatic process. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and chronic cholecystitis are predictors of psoriatic disease progression.