[Spatial and temporary changes in sensitivity of murine proliferative system and energy exchange to typhoid fever infection].

The authors studied the spatial and temporary organization of the proliferative system and energy exchange in the small intestinal epithelium, as well as spatial and temporary changes in the sensitivity of these systems in mice to typhoid fever infection (cultured Salmonella typhi, 4446) at day and night. The small intestinal epithelial systems were found to show a spatial and time organization and a close correlation between their temporary and spatial changes after infection. The temporary organization of the proliferative system in the esophageal epithelium is more sensitive to infection in the day-time and that of the small intestinal epithelial proliferative system is more marked at night.

Resistance of mice exposed to whole-body irradiation to transplanted hemopoietic cells modified with RNA preparations.

The resistance of irradiated mice to bone marrow grafts treated with RNA from the liver of syngenic, allogenic, or xenogenic (rat) species was studied. Syngenic recipients developed resistance to grafts treated with allogenic RNA. The resistance to allografts increased after treatment with xenogenic RNA, whereas treatment of allo- and xenografts with syngenic RNA facilitated their take.

Expression of the startle reaction in rats genetically predisposed towards different types of defensive behavior.

The magnitudes of startle reactions, consisting of shuddering in response to acoustic signals, were studied in rats selected for predisposition to different types of defensive behavior-rats with and without passive defensive freezing reactions (catalepsy), and Norway rats selected for a lack of defensive aggression to humans or for high levels of aggression; studies were performed in an SR-Pilot apparatus. These experiments showed that expression of the startle reaction to standard sound signal in rats with a genetic predisposition to catalepsy was double that in control Wistar rats. A similar but greater difference was seen between highly aggressive and non-aggressive rats: the amplitude of the startle reaction in rats with high levels of active defensive responses was three times that in rats showing no aggression towards humans.

[Efferent methods in the therapy of puerperal and postoperative complications].

Ninety-six patients with chorioamnionitis in labor were treated. Clinical observations and laboratory findings demonstrated high efficiency of multiple-modality treatment including use of efferent methods: plasmapheresis, incubation of cell mass with antibiotics, and ultra-violet exposure of the blood.

[Disordered differentiation of mouse embryonic lungs in organ cultures under the action of nitrosomethylurea].

We have studied the effect of nitrosomethylurea (NMU) on differentiation of early rudiments of mouse embryonic lungs (12th day of embryogenesis) explanted into an organ culture. We have demonstrated that nontoxic doses of NMU are capable of accelerating normal lung differentiation both at the early (increase in the number of epithelial buds) and at the late (increase in the number of explants with regions of well-developed alveoli) stages of cultivation. However, NMU induces disturbances of differentiation, which appear as polycystic structures and hyperplastic nodules generally absent in the control.

[Genetic knockout--the first steps and outlook for a neurophysiology of behavior].

A review of modern data on genetic knockout strategy application to study the brain neurotransmitters and their role in the regulation of behavior. Advantages and shortcomings of genetic knockout of receptors and the enzymes of neurotransmitters metabolism models in comparison to other methods are discussed. Data on the effect of genetic knockout of various types of opioid, dopamine, serotonin and adrenoreceptors as well as enzymes in biosynthesis of catecholamines and serotonin on physiology and behavior is adduced.

[Serotonin metabolism in the rat brain during water deprivation and hydration].

Water deprivation (WD) decreased the serotonin (5-HT) level and significantly increased the 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the rat midbrain and hypothalamus, the catabolic 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio increasing three-fold. Hydration (H) produced a moderate increase in the 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels in the hypothalamus with no changes in the 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio. Hydration exerted no significant effect upon the 5-HT level and metabolism in the midbrain.

[Physiological manifestations of action of a gene regulating predisposition to a pendulum-like movements in rodents].

Physiological effects of the gene determining predisposition to a stereotypical hyperkinesis in the form of pedulum movements (PM) are manifested in some behavioral peculiarities (total motor activity, emotionality, intensity of the startle reflex, sensitivity of the 5-HT2 receptors, predisposition to catalepsy). High frequency of the PM occurring in Wistar rat stock suggests that the gene determining the PM expression is not a pathological one but controls some adaptive properties of the nervous system. Relationships between the PM expression and the degree of predisposition to catalepsy are biphasic and may be described by an inverted U-shaped curve.

A locus that influences susceptibility to 1, 2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon tumors maps to the distal end of mouse chromosome 3.

While inheritance of mutated alleles of highly penetrant tumor suppressor genes such as retinoblastoma or p53 predisposes individuals to a greatly increased risk of developing cancer, epidemiological data indicate that the majority of sporadic tumors in humans result from interactions of environmental and host genetic factors. The host genetic factors are poorly penetrant tumor susceptibility genes that determine the likelihood that a cancer will arise from carcinogen exposure. The majority of colon tumors in humans are sporadic in nature.

[The demand for blood transfusion agents and blood substitutes in the treatment of wounded patients].

Modern arms in combat tend to increase sanitary losses, change their structure and make combat traumas more severe. Blood transfusion therapy became a necessity in the wounds treatment. The recent armed conflicts made military medics move the blood transfusion service to the front lines.

[The comparison of levels of anxiety and stress response in mice selected for low and high brain weight].

Emotionality, anxiety and stress reactivity were studied in mice selected for large (LW) and small (SW) brain weight. The open-field test, startle reaction, cross-maze, tail suspension and slippery funnel tests were used. It was shown that the SW mice are more active in the open field, more anxious and predisposed to the stereotyped behavior and passive reactions in stress situations.

[Genetic relationships between catalepsy and pendulum movements in rats].

Predispositions to pendulum movements (PMs) and catalepsy was studied in rat strains selected for predisposition to catalepsy and for enhanced or suppressed PMs. Positive correlation between PMs and catalepsy at earlier stages of selection changed to negative at later stages. Based on these data, it was hypothesized that the genes that determine the predisposition to catalepsy affect the expression of the gene determining PMs in such a way that different PM alleles become dominant in the cases of moderate and strong effects of the catalepsy genes.

[The characteristics of the startle reflex to an acoustic stimulus in rats with hereditary stress-sensitive arterial hypertension: the effect of chronic stress in the prepuberty period].

Acoustic startle reflex was studied in young and adult rats with hereditary stress-induced arterial hypertension (HSIAH) in comparison with original normotensive Wistar strain. Immediate and long-lasting effects of chronic handling or chronic unpredictable stress at the age of 4 and 5 weeks on manifestations of the startle reflex were studied. The amplitude of the sensorimotor reaction was lower in both young (38-day-old) and adult (4-month-old) HSIAH rats than in age-matched normotensive Wistar rats.

[Effect of 5HT2 receptor blockade on the startle reflex and its prepulse inhibition in mice and rats of various strains].

Effects of 5-HT2 receptor blockade on the amplitude of startle reflex, induced by an unexpected sound, and on its prepulse inhibition (PPI) were studied on mice of CBA strain and rats of Wistar and the genetically predisposed to catalepsy (GC) strains. The effect was dependent on type and dose of 5-HT2 antagonist used: 5-HT2A antagonist ketanserin increased startle amplitude at the dose of 0.5 mg/kg and decreased it at the dose of 2 mg/kg.

[Unusually high level of chromosome variability in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes].

A cytogenetic examination carried out in the inhabitants of Seversk (Tomsk oblast) and workers of the Siberian chemical industrial complex (a complex of nuclear-chemical and fuel plants), living in the same town, revealed unusually high level of spontaneous chromosomal variability both in control and industrial groups (total irradiation doses 1.8 to 3.7 and 9.

[Manifestation of fear response in rats genetically predisposed to various kinds of defense behavior].

Acoustic startle response in rats bred for 40 generations of Wistar stock for predisposition to catalepsy, was two-fold higher than in control Wistar rats. In wild Norway rats bred for absence of aggressiveness, the acoustic startle response manifested a three-fold lower amplitude than in aggressive rats. As opposed to tame rats, the startle response reduction in 4 trials was insignificant in wild-type rats.

Congenital cataracts facial dysmorphism neuropathy syndrome, a novel complex genetic disease in Balkan Gypsies: clinical and electrophysiological observations.

During a study of hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy-Lom in Bulgaria, a previously unrecognized neurological disorder was encountered, mainly in Wallachian Gypsies, who represent a relatively recent genetic isolate. The disorder has been termed the congenital cataracts facial dysmorphism neuropathy (CCFDN) syndrome to emphasize its salient features. Fifty individuals from 19 extended pedigrees were identified and examined clinically and electrophysiologically.