Ex vivo culture of human atherosclerotic plaques: A model to study immune cells in atherogenesis.

Background And Aims: The mechanisms that drive atherosclerotic plaque progression and destabilization in humans remain largely unknown. Laboratory models are needed to study these mechanisms under controlled conditions. The aim of this study was to establish a new ex vivo model of human atherosclerotic plaques that preserves the main cell types in plaques and the extracellular components in the context of native cytoarchitecture.

[Morphological features of the myocardium of the atrial appendages in patients with different forms of atrial fibrillation].

Aim: to analyze the morphological features of the myocardium of the atrial appendages in patients with different forms of atrial fibrillation (AF) and to compare the findings with the clinical parameters of patients.

Material And Methods: Light and electron microscopies were used to examine the myocardium of the atrial appendages in adult patients with paroxysmal (PAF), persistent (PrAF), or long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (LPAF) and in comparison group patients with sinus rhythm without history of AF. A morphometric method was employed to evaluate myocardial fibrosis and to measure the diameter of cardiomyocytes (CMCs); the degree of lipomatosis and amyloidosis was semiquantitatively determined; and the content of CMC myofibrils was estimated.

Comparative analysis of learning curve in complex robot-assisted and laparoscopic liver resection.

Background: There is no comparative analysis of the learning curves for robot-assisted and laparoscopic liver resection. We aimed to compare learning curves in complex robotic and conventional laparoscopic liver resections with regards to estimation of the difficulty index score.

Methods: The results of 131 consecutive liver resections were analyzed retrospectively (40 robot-assisted and 91 laparoscopic).

[Immunological Analysis of Human Atherosclerotic Plaques in ex vivo Culture System].

The Aim Of The Study: to analyze the dynamics of lymphocytic composition of human atherosclerotic plaques in ex vivo culture system.

Materials And Methods: The study included 15 atherosclerotic plaques obtained from patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy. Plaques were cultured as ring-shaped explants on collagen rafts in culture medium of special composition in CO2 incubator according to the previously developed technique.

[Surgical treatment of retroperitoneal masses].

Aim: To improve the results of treatment of patients with retroperitoneal tumors.

Material And Methods: The study included 83 patients with retroperitoneal tumors including 57 cases of benign tumors and 26 patients with malignancies. Laparotomy (Lt), robot-assisted (RA) and laparoscopic (Ls) techniques were used in 35, 34 and 14 patients respectively.

Efficacy and Safety of Alprostadil in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease Fontaine Stage IV: Results of a Placebo Controlled Randomised Multicentre Trial (ESPECIAL).

Objectives: The aim was to assess the efficacy and safety of alprostadil in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) Fontaine Stage IV.

Methods: This was a multinational, prospective, randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group trial. Patients with Stage IV PAOD were equally randomised to either 4 weeks of alprostadil treatment twice daily or to placebo treatment twice daily.

Molecular markers of paragangliomas/pheochromocytomas.

Paragangliomas/pheochromocytomas comprise rare tumors that arise from the extra-adrenal paraganglia, with an incidence of about 2 to 8 per million people each year. Approximately 40% of cases are due to genetic mutations in at least one out of more than 30 causative genes. About 25-30% of pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas develop under the conditions of a hereditary tumor syndrome a third of which are caused by mutations in the VHL gene.

Effect of lentivirus-mediated shRNA inactivation of HK1, HK2, and HK3 genes in colorectal cancer and melanoma cells.

Background: The switch from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis in proliferating cancer cells, even under aerobic conditions, has been shown first in 1926 by Otto Warburg. Today this phenomenon is known as the "Warburg effect" and recognized as a hallmark of cancer. The metabolic shift to glycolysis is associated with the alterations in signaling pathways involved in energy metabolism, including glucose uptake and fermentation, and regulation of mitochondrial functions.

Differential expression of alternatively spliced transcripts related to energy metabolism in colorectal cancer.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. CRC molecular pathogenesis is heterogeneous and may be followed by mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, chromosomal and microsatellite instability, alternative splicing alterations, hypermethylation of CpG islands, oxidative stress, impairment of different signaling pathways and energy metabolism. In the present work, we have studied the alterations of alternative splicing patterns of genes related to energy metabolism in CRC.

Experimental Study of the Effects of Nanodispersed Ceria on Wound Repair.

We studied the effects of nanodispersed ceria on wound healing in vitro and in vivo. It was found that cerium dioxide stimulated wound healing, which manifested in shrinkage of burn wound area (by 1.5 times) and intensification (by 2.

Contrast-enhanced MDCT in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours: correlation with histological findings and diagnostic performance in differentiation between tumour grades.

Aim: To identify the multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) features of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (pNETs), which correlate with tumour histology and enable preoperative grading.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-nine patients with histologically confirmed pNET who underwent preoperative contrast-enhanced MDCT were included in this study. Nineteen tumours were classified as Grade 1 (G1) and 20 as Grade 2 (G2).

Features of the Left Ventricular Functional Geometry in Patients with Myocardial Diseases with Varying Degrees of Systolic Dysfunction.

We revealed some features of the left ventricular functional geometry in patients with myocardial diseases with different degrees of left ventricular systolic dysfunction. A negative correlation was found between the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of the kinetics of the left ventricular wall during systole and ejection fraction in normal heart and in systolic dysfunction. The differences in the quantitative characteristics of the functional geometry between patients and normal subjects and between different groups of patients depended on the severityof left-ventricular systolic dysfunction.

Expression of Therapeutic Gene FCU1 Sensitizes Pancreatic Cancer Cells to 5-Fluorocytosine and Enhances the Cytotoxic Effect of 5-Fluorouracil.

Hybrid therapeutic gene FCU1 gene was cloned into a lentiviral expression vector and the therapeutic effect of its expression was studied in three pancreatic cancer cell lines. Expression of FCU1 gene sensitized cells of two of three studied pancreatic cancer cell lines to 5-fluorocytosine. In addition, uracil phosphoribosyl transferase activity of the hybrid FCU1 protein increased sensitivity of transfected cells of all three studied pancreatic cancer cell lines to 5-fluorouracil, a standard chemotherapeutic agent.

Multi-port versus single-port cholecystectomy: results of a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial (MUSIC trial).

Background: Single-port laparoscopic surgery as an alternative to conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy for benign disease has not yet been accepted as a standard procedure. The aim of the multi-port versus single-port cholecystectomy trial was to compare morbidity rates after single-access (SPC) and standard laparoscopy (MPC).

Methods: This non-inferiority phase 3 trial was conducted at 20 hospital surgical departments in six countries.

Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in aging and cancer.

Aging and cancer are the most important issues to research. The population in the world is growing older, and the incidence of cancer increases with age. There is no doubt about the linkage between aging and cancer.

[The results of open and laparoscopic appendectomy in pregnant women with acute appendicitis].

Aim: To compare conventional and laparoscopic appendectomy in pregnant women.

Material And Methods: The study included 86 patients with acute appendicitis who were surgically treated. In group 1 (42 women) laparoscopic approach was used, in group 2 (44 patients) - laparotomy.