[Fucolectins in diagnostic and neoplasm investigation].

Problems of practical application of fucose-binding lectins as selective histochemical markers and their diagnostical and prognostical value under different pathological states are considered. Special attention is paid to carbohydrate specificity of the most investigated and perspective fucolectins which are already applied in investigation of regularity of cell's functioning and differentiation. It is shown that fucose-specific lectins are useful diagnostic reagents in pathomorphological and clinical investigations.

[A model of the quinone-binding site of photosystem I: investigation of charge transfer complexes of phylloquinone and its derivatives with tryptophan].

Phylloquinone (vitamin K1; 2-methyl-3-phytyl-1,4-naphthoquinone), the secondary electron acceptor A1 in photosystem I of plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, mediates the electron transfer between A0 (a monomeric chlorophyll a) and the iron-sulfur cluster Fx. In order to investigate the interaction of vitamin K1 with the A1-binding site, their models on the non-covalent complexes were obtained and studied. The fluorescent properties of vitamin K1, its derivatives, and their complexes with Trp showed a possible role of amino acid components in the formation of a stable energy state, which provides the energy redistribution between oxidized and reduced forms of vitamin K1.

Carboranylporphyrins for boron neutron capture therapy of cancer.

A major challenge for cancer treatment is the preferential and irreversible killing of tumor cells and minimal damage of normal tissues, both in the site of the malignancy and in the body. The agents used in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) are supposed to have the following advantages over many conventional chemotherapeutics: 1) when irradiated with thermal neutrons, an unstable isotope (11)B is formed whose rapid decay yields local and a thermal effect; 2) because the free path of the released particles is close to the cell diameter, the tissues outside the tumor should gain less damage; 3) local radioactivity and heat should be harmful for cells that, in the course of their natural history, acquired the determinants of altered response to many toxic stimuli. However, a higher specificity of damage would be achieved if the drugs accumulate mostly in cancer cells rather than in non-malignant counterparts.

[Studies of oligosaccharide specificity of perch roe fucolectin, using gold labeled neoglycoproteins].

The specificity of perch (Perca fluviatilis) roe fucolectin was studied using the protein dot blot technique, followed by detection with colloidal gold-labeled neoglycoproteins bearing human milk polysaccharides. The strongest binding was noted with the H type 1 pentasaccharide lacto-N-fucopentaose (LNFP I, Fuc alpha 1-2 Gal beta 1-3 GlcNAc beta 1-3 Gal beta 1-4Glc); the interaction with the H type 6 trisaccharide 2'-fucosyllactose (2-FL, Fuc alpha 1-2 Gal beta 1-4 Glc) was weaker. Binding of the perch lectin to the Lewis antigens (associated with tumors and embryonic tissues) was also studied.