Features of Metabolism and Its Regulation in the Dynamics of Experimental Models of Metabolic Disorders.

Changes in the lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, adipokines, and growth factors during the development of metabolic disorders were studied in three mouse models: C57BL/6 (alimentary obesity), db/db (leptin-resistant obesity), and NOD (diabetes mellitus) lines. In the group of alimentary obesity, moderate fatty infiltration of the liver and hypertrophy of the adipose tissue, hyperglycemia, and increased concentrations of adiponectin, transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), leptin, and cholesterol were detected. In the group of leptin-resistant obesity, multiple pathological changes in tissues, severe hyperglycemia and hyperleptinemia, hyperinsulinemia, and reduced concentrations of triglycerides, adiponectin, myostatin, and TGF-β1 were detected.

Structural and Functional Effects of Cardiomyopathy-Causing Mutations in the Troponin T-Binding Region of Cardiac Tropomyosin.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a severe heart disease caused by missense mutations in genes encoding sarcomeric proteins of cardiac muscle. Many of these mutations are identified in the gene encoding the cardiac isoform of tropomyosin (Tpm), an α-helical coiled-coil actin-binding protein that plays a key role in Ca-regulated contraction of cardiac muscle. We employed various methods to characterize structural and functional features of recombinant human Tpm species carrying HCM mutations that lie either within the troponin T-binding region in the C-terminal part of Tpm (E180G, E180V, and L185R) or near this region (I172T).