Microbiological Production of Isocitric Acid from Biodiesel Waste and Its Effect on Spatial Memory.

Within this work, the microbial synthesis of (2,3)-isocitric acid (ICA), a metabolite of the nonconventional yeast , from biodiesel waste, has been studied. The selected strain VKM Y-2373 synthesized ICA with citric acid (CA) as a byproduct. This process can be regulated by changing cultivation conditions.

Appetitive conditioning task in a shuttle box and its comparison with the active avoidance paradigm.

The main features of the Shuttle Box Active Avoidance paradigm (e.g., the use of simple locomotor response as an operant and electrical current as a primary reinforcer) make this task easily automated.

Alteration of oxidative stress markers and behavior of rats in a novel model of depression.

Emotional stress is considered a serious pathogenetic factor of depression. In this study an ultrasound model of emotional stress developed in our laboratory was applied. It is characterized by the use of ultrasound as the stressor agent.

Biosynthesis of isocitric acid in repeated-batch culture and testing of its stress-protective activity.

Biosynthesis of Ds(+)-threo-isocitric acid from ethanol in the Yarrowia lipolytica batch and repeated-batch cultures was studied. Repeated-batch cultivation was found to provide for a good biosynthetic efficiency of the producer for as long as 748 h, probably due to maintenance of high activities of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of isocitric acid. Under optimal repeated-batch cultivation conditions, the producer accumulated 109.

Neuroinflammation and aberrant hippocampal plasticity in a mouse model of emotional stress evoked by exposure to ultrasound of alternating frequencies.

Emotional stress is a form of stress evoked by processing negative mental experience rather than an organic or physical disturbance and is a frequent cause of neuropsychiatric pathologies, including depression. Susceptibility to emotional stress is commonly regarded as a human-specific trait that is challenging to model in other species. Recently, we showed that a 3-week-long exposure to ultrasound of unpredictable alternating frequencies within the ranges of 20-25 kHz and 25-45 kHz can induce depression-like characteristics in laboratory mice and rats.

Investigation of the effect of biologically active threo-Ds-isocitric acid on oxidative stress in Paramecium caudatum.

The effect of biologically active form (threo-Ds-) of isocitric acid (ICA) on oxidative stress was studied using the infusorian Paramecium caudatum stressed by hydrogen peroxide and salts of some heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cd). ICA at concentrations between 0.5 and 10 mM favorably influenced the infusorian cells with oxidative stress induced by the toxicants studied.