Morphologic and functional characterization of human aortic endothelium. III. Growth in culture and colony formation at low seeding density

HLA-G is a nonclassical, class I HLA gene that is primarily expressed by fetal cells at the maternal-fetal interface and is thought to play a key role in the induction of tolerance in pregnancy. This paper reports the identification of a single base pair deletion at position 1597 (1597delC) in exon 3 (encoding the alpha2-domain) of HLA-G on 20 of 272 (7.4 per cent) African American chromosomes, three of 102 (2.9 per cent) Hispanic chromosomes, and none of 134 Caucasian chromosomes. This relatively common frameshift mutation results in amino acid substitutions in all of the residues in the second half of exon 3 including the conserved cysteine at codon 164. An adult individual was identified who was homozygous for this 'null' allele, and a first trimester placenta that was homozygous for 1597delC had no detectable HLA-G1 protein. These data indicate that expression of HLA-G1 protein is not essential for fetal survival.     

Diagnostic and prognostic value of interleukin-6 in malignant non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

Sixty six patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) were studied, interleukin-6 (IL-6) was revealed in the blood sera of 33 patients. IL-6 was revealed more frequently in patients with high-grade malignant (p < 0.05) than in those with low-grade malignancy. The largest group of IL-6 positive patients included NHL patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and angioimmunoblastic lymphoma. The marked relationship was found between the serum IL-6 levels and the stage of disease: the serum IL-6 level was significantly lower in untreated patients with Stages II and III disease than in those with end-stage (IV) NHL. IL-6 significantly decreased upon remission, comparable with its level before the initiation of treatment. Analysing the association of prognosis of disease with the serum IL-6 showed that in the group of patients with good (The SNLG index < 2) and intermediate (2 < SNLG index < by 2.6) prognosis, the concentration of this cytokine was significantly lower than in those with poor prognosis (SNLG index > 2.6). There was a significant decrease of the total survival rates of NHL with serum IL-6 found. Therefore, IL-6 is a good prognostic marker in NHL and associated with the activity of a malignant process. Additionally, the increased serum IL-6 levels correlated with NK activities positively and with serum IL-4 levels negatively.     

Circulatory encephalopathy in patients with arterial hypertension

More accurate definition of the leading factors of development of discirculatory encephalopathy (DE) in patients with arterial hypertension was the aim of this investigation. The analysis of correlations between clinical and computer tomographical symptoms of DE on the one hand and the indices of central hemodynamics, head blood circulation and presence of atherosclerosis of head arteria on the other hand was performed. It was found that congestion in head venous system was the main factor in DE development. The conclusion was made that both atherosclerosis of head arteria and arterial hypertension promoted venous congestion in head by means of decreasing the amplitude of arterial pulsation and in turn the development of DE. Meanwhile, the increase of minute blood flow prevents it.     

Expression of HIV-1 epitopes included in particles formed by human hepatitis B virus nucleocapsid protein

Hybrids of the core protein of hepatitis B virus (HBcAg) have been designed which carry N-terminal insertions of B- and T-cell epitopes of HIV-1 an immunodominant B-epitope from gp41, a T-cell epitope from p34 pol, and a cluster of B- and T-cell epitopes from p17 gag. The hybrids have been synthesized using two expression systems-one based on the thermoinducible PR promoter of bacteriophage lambda and the other one based on phi 10 promoter of bacteriophage T7 with 3-5% and 7-14% yields, respectively. The hybrids have dual HBV and HIV-1 immunospecificity and are assembled into particles similar to those formed by the protein carrier HBcAg. Sandwich ELISA and immune electron microscopy revealed that HIV-1 epitopes are exposed on the surface of the particles.     

beta 2-Adrenomimetics before and after extracorporeal lithotripsy

The paper shows it possible to use the method of total internal reflection-fluorescence for study of the kinetics of protein adsorption onto the surface of intraocular lenses (IOL) made from optically transparent hydrophobic polymers and hydrogels. The nature of the materials (polymethylmethacrylate, silicone, p-HEMA, p-HEMA-collagen copolymer) used for IOL on the adsorption and desorption of human serum albumin was studied.     

The reactivity and mechanical sensitivity of the secretory and myoepithelial cells in the alveoli of the murine mammary gland

The data obtained suggests that the period following the cessation of suckling their young in mice induces no inhibition of the contractile response of myoepithelial cells or of the milk ejection. For the first time, the inhibitor (Gd3+ ions) of the mechanosensitive ion channels was shown to inhibit the secretory and myoepithelial cells responses in the mammary gland alveoli.