[On the mechanisms of thyrocyte proliferation and death in autoimmune thyroid diseases].

Lymphocytes isolated from diffuse toxic goiter (Graves' disease, GD) stimulate the proliferation of "normal" thyrocytes (isolated from euthyroid goiter) in primary culture, and give them the properties of GD-thyrocytes (loss of sensitivity to the growth-promoting factors of FCS and lesser capacity of binding antibodies from GD patients' serum). The complement-free sera of GD patients (but not the sera of patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, HT) induce the death of "normal" thyrocytes more rarely than full-complement sera do. Both types of serum cytotoxicity are manifested on GD-thyrocytes much more rarely than on "normal" cells.

Increase in serum concentration of FAS ligand as a possible mechanism for antithyroid cytotoxicity during autoimmune thyroid diseases.

We studied the dependence of serum cytotoxic activity on the contents of soluble apoptosis receptor and its soluble ligand in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases.

Regulation of insulin-responsive aminopeptidase expression and targeting in the insulin-responsive vesicle compartment of glucose transporter isoform 4-deficient cardiomyocytes.

In adipocytes and cardiac or skeletal muscle, glucose transporter isoform 4 (GLUT4) is targeted to insulin-responsive intracellular membrane vesicles (IRVs) that contain several membrane proteins, including insulin-responsive aminopeptidase (IRAP) that completely colocalizes with GLUT4 in basal and insulin-treated cells. Cardiac GLUT4 content is reduced by 65-85% in IRAP knockout mice, suggesting that IRAP may regulate the targeting or degradation of GLUT4. To determine whether GLUT4 is required for maintenance of IRAP content within IRVs, we studied the expression and cellular localization of IRAP and other GLUT4 vesicle-associated proteins, in hearts of mice with cardiac-specific deletion of GLUT4 (G4H-/-).

Antibodies to pituitary surface antigens during various pituitary disease states.

Autoantibodies to cell surface antigens of human somatotropinoma (ASAS), human prolactinoma (ASAP) and rat adenohypophysis (ASARA) were assayed in the serum of patients with pituitary diseases associated with GH deficiency (GHD), such as pituitary dwarfism and primary empty sella syndrome (ESS), and in the serum of patients with hyperprolactinaemia of different etiologies: idiopathic hyperprolactinaemia, prolactinoma and ESS. The investigation was carried out with a cellular variant of an ELISA. Among children with GHD, the highest percentage of antibody-positive patients was found in the group with idiopathic isolated GHD (89% of ASAS(+) patients and 30% of ASARA(+) patients vs 33.

Isolation and characterization of the two major intracellular Glut4 storage compartments.

In rat adipose cells, intracellular Glut4 resides in two distinct vesicular populations one of which contains cellugyrin whereas another lacks this protein (Kupriyanova, T. A., and Kandror, K.