Pleiotropic Anticancer Properties of Scorpion Venom Peptides: Venom as an Anticancer Agent.

To date, the success of conventional chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted biological therapies in cancer treatment is not satisfactory. The main reasons for such outcomes rely on low target selectivity, primarily in chemo- and radiotherapy, ineffectiveness to metastatic disease, drug resistance, and severe side effects. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors may offer better clinical promise, success is still limited.

[Igf-1 and its isoform expression in hepatic cell tumors and the surrounding tissue in mice liver carcinogenesis induced by diethylnitrozamine].

The expression of the Igf-1 gene in mice liver at different stages of development of hepatocellular carcinoma induced by diethylnitrozamine--from the initial diffuse tissue dysplasia and nodular hyperplasia to the development of multiple adenomas and carcinoma--has been analyzed. It was marked that the level of Igf-1 expression in all liver neoplasms decreased; it increased only in the liver tissue surrounding the carcinoma. The dependence of Igf-1 expression on inflammatory processes accompanying tumor growth was analyzed on the model of acute liver damage by diethylnitrozamine.

[Lipid-proteinic interaction in erythrocytie and placental membranes in women with insulin resistance].

Disturbances of erythrocyte and placental membrane functiond have been studied in placenta of pregnant women with obesity and diabetes mellitus type 2. The results of this study demonstrate significant metabolic impairments in women with insulin resistance. Changes in lipid spectrum of erythrocyte membranes and decreased activity of antioxidant enzymes obviously contribute to the development of fetoplacental insufficiency.

[Interaction of the ss and CG5017 genes in the regulation of morphogensis of limbs in Drosophila melanogaster].

The influence of the P-element built into the area of the CG5017 gene on the mutation of the spineless (ss) gene was studied. It was shown that the insertion of the P-element decreased the level of transcription of CG5017 approximately twofold. Modulation of the level of transcription of the CG5017 gene helped demonstrate, for the first time, its influence on the phenotypic manifestation of the mutation of the ss gene, which shows their interaction in the process of regulation of morphogenesis of limbs in Drosophila melanogaster.

[Molecular genetic and immunophenotypic analysis of antigen profiling, osteogenic and adipogenic potentials of mesenchymal stromal cells from fetal liver and adult bone marrow in rats].

Comparative characteristics of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) from fetal liver and adult bone marrow are of great interest due to similar contribution to organization of the hematopoietic microenvironments in these organs in different developmental periods. It is known that MSC play a pivotal role in organization of hematopoietic stem cells "niches". Moreover, the histogenetic affinity between MSC from both sources is not ruled out.

[Comparative characterization of mesenchymal bone marrow stromal cells at early and late stages of culturing].

The mesenchymal stromal cell is a multipotent precursor of osteoblasts, adipocytes, and some other cell types. In this study, a comparative analysis of cultured mesenchymal stromal cells from the rat bone marrow at the early and late stages of subculturing has been performed using molecular genetic and cytological methods. The culture has undergone 11 passages during 140 days.

[Molecular and genetic regulation of osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells].

The review summarizes current concepts concerning the molecular genetic mechanisms of the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells, which is controlled by a complex of signaling proteins and transcription factors. The interaction of regulatory factors involved in the most important signaling pathways at different stages of this differentiation is discussed.

[Constructive synergism of regulatory genes expressed in the course of the eye and muscle development and regeneration].

The expression patterns of regulatory genes involved in the formation of the eye in Drosophila and vertebrates during early development were analyzed comparatively. The results demonstrated that, although the compound eyes of invertebrates and the camera eyes of vertebrates markedly differ in their structure and development, they exhibit a striking similarity at the molecular level. This similarity manifests itself in the fact that the homologous regulatory genes ey/Pax, eya/Eya, dac/Dac, and so/Six, which control the early stages of eye development, are expressed in both groups.

[Crystallins: recruiting proteins to perform new functions].

The main properties of major water-soluble proteins of the lens, i.e., crystallins, include high ability to aggregation and stability.

[Structural organization of red blood cell membranes in pregnant women with gestosis].

Activated lipid peroxidation (LPO) was found to occur with decreased antioxidative activity (AOA) in gestosis, by deteriorating the structural and functional properties of cell membranes. This enhanced the permeability of the phospholipid bilayer and altered the function of membranous proteins and the synthesis of biologically active agents, by involving the systems responsible for microcirculatory homeostasis. Enhanced membrane hydrophilicity and increased LPO and AOA are typical of the second and third trimesters of normal pregnancy.

[Molecular-biological approaches to studying gene expression during regeneration].

This paper constitutes a review of the methodical approaches allowing analysis of the mechanisms underlying development and differentiation. Progress in investigation of the mechanisms underlying embryogenesis is related to the discovery of genic families in the Drosophila genome, which are responsible for different periods of embryogenesis. The true revolution in studies of developmental mechanisms began with the application of molecular-genetic methods for analysis of Drosophila mutant lines.

[Identification of new genes and analysis of their expression during lens and retinal regeneration in adult newts].

During lens regeneration in Pleurodeles waltl, the dorsal iris zone is the cell source of the lens regeneration, while the ventral iris zone can serve as the cells' source of lens regeneration only under certain experimental conditions. The method of subtractive hybridization was used for the identification of genes responsible for the different proliferative potential of these zones. Differential screening of the enriched cDNA libraries, which were obtained as a result of subtractive hybridization of the cDNA samples of the ventral and dorsal iris zones 14 days after lens removal, revealed four clones specific to the dorsal iris and six clones specific to the ventral iris.

[The taxon-specific lens protein of the frog eye: its phylogenetic kinship with the proteins of the NADP-dependent reductase family].

Physicochemical and molecular-biological properties of the proteins from the family of NADP-dependent reductases are reviewed in the article. Physicochemical properties of aldehyde/aldosoreductases are well studied. Information on the genes, coding for these proteins has appeared recently as well.

Preexcision blepharoplasty.

Numerous techniques have been described for lower lid blepharoplasty. Over the past 15 years, a preexcision (pinch) technique with preservation of the pretarsal orbicularis oculi muscle has been used in more than 1000 cases presenting with dermatochalasis and pseudoherniated fat without lateral skin redundancy. The amount of lower lid skin to be excised is estimated by pinching the skin.

[Evaluation of the results of reconstructive operations in patients with occlusive diseases of the abdominal aorta and its branches].

The article deals with the results of studying regional microcirculation in 550 patients with chronic arterial insufficiency. Radioisotope study of blood flow in the muscles with isotopes 131I or 133Xe before and after muscular exertion, morpho-histological++ study of biopsies from a skeletal muscle, histochemical and ultrastructural study of the microcirculatory channel were carried out. Analysis of the findings made it possible to distinguish, according to the changes in circulation in the tissues, three clinical groups of patients (compensated, subcompensated, and decompensated), to determine the indications and contraindications for various types of reconstructive operations, and to prognosticate with high authenticity the outcome of the disease.

Vasomotor rhinitis.

The term VMR is used to describe a nonimmunologic, noninfectious, chronic type of rhinitis without nasal eosinophilia. The causes are diverse and, in many cases, never identified. Before the diagnosis of VMR can be made, AR and ENR must be ruled out.