The Influence of Atorvastatin, Amlodipine and Ethoxidol on Ubiquinol and Ubiquinone Endogenous Plasma Concentrations in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure.

Background: Coenzyme Q10 is a key component of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and a fat-soluble endogenous antioxidant performing many vital functions in the human body. Many researchers studied the plasma concentrations of ubiquinol, ubiquinone, total CoQ10 and the redox state (ubiquinol/ubiquinone ratio) of CoQ10 in healthy volunteers. However, these parameters in the plasma of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) remain almost uninvestigated.

The Effect of Coenzyme Q10 as a Part of Standard Therapy on Plasma Concentrations of Ubiquinol, Ubiquinone, Total CoQ10 and its Redox State in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease.

Background: Despite CoQ10 being a powerful antioxidant and its redox state that may characterize the body's antioxidant system, the latter remains unstudied in patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Objective: This prospective case-control study aimed to investigate the concentrations of ubiquinol, ubiquinone, total CoQ10 and its redox state in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and arterial hypertension (AH) during standard therapy and with the additional prescription of CoQ10.

Methods: The study included 54 healthy individuals and 26 patients, who were divided into a control group receiving standard therapy and a test group receiving CoQ10 in addition to standard therapy.

Quantitative Assay of B. pertussis Lipopolysaccharide.

We studied activity of Bordetella pertussis LPS in the LAL test. The mean activity of various series of LPS preparations obtained from B. pertussis cells ranged from 1,950,000 to 2,940,000 endotoxin units/μg (EU/μg).

[Myostatin - a modern understanding of the physiological role and significance in the development of age-associated diseases.].

Myostatin is a protein belonging to the myokine class, the family of transforming growth factors β (TGF-β). The review article, based on the analysis of literature data, shows the key role of myostatin in the development of senile sarcopenia and cachexia in various pathological conditions, such as cancer, chronic heart failure, chronic renal failure, COPD, etc. The article discusses the structure of myostatin, provides a detailed diagram of the synthesis and activation of myostatin, the ways of implementing the mechanism of action as a negative regulator of muscle growth and differentiation in these pathological conditions.

Follistatin-Like Proteins: Structure, Functions and Biomedical Importance.

Main forms of cellular signal transmission are known to be autocrine and paracrine signaling. Several cells secrete messengers called autocrine or paracrine agents that can bind the corresponding receptors on the surface of the cells themselves or their microenvironment. Follistatin and follistatin-like proteins can be called one of the most important bifunctional messengers capable of displaying both autocrine and paracrine activity.