Vol 137, No 3 (2010)

The purpose of the present study was to demonstrate pathologically changed forms of neurons and intensity of the neuronoglial interactions which represented the normal standard for the interconnected parts of mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system (MDS) in 6 intact adult female Wistar rats and in 5 healthy humans aged 24-45 years. The percentages of unchanged, hypochromic, pyknomorphic and ghost neurons in proportion to their total number were determined in the anteromedial part of paranigral nucleus of ventral tegmental region of midbrain tegmentum (TVR), compact part of black substance (BS), anteromedial part of accumbent nucleus (NA) close to anterior brain commissure and in middle of layer III of a pregenual part of field 24b (Cg3 in rats). The structures of the brain, unrelated to MDS - layers III and V of field 1 - were investigated as the control. The data obtained indicate significant changes of MDS neurons in the healthy people as compared to those in the intact rats. The number of pathologically changed MDS neurons, as well as the number of fibers in medial forebrain bundle, were shown to decrease with the increase of distance from catecholaminergic nuclei of reticular formation, reaching the minimum in non-dopaminoceptive and low-noradrenoceptive layer V of field 1. More than 25% of the neurons in TVR paranigral nucleus were ghost cells. Over 30% of NA neurons were hypochromic and ghost cells. About 25% of neurons in field 24b were ghost cells, hypochromic and pyknomorphic. The intensity of neuronoglial interaction in human and rat dopaminergic nuclei is significantly greater than in the projectional parts of MDS and in the layers of field 1, unrelated to it. Local changes of MDS neurons in man and high intensity of neuronoglial interactions in dopaminergic nuclei reflect the blurring of the boundaries between the normal state and pathology and lower durability of this system, as compared to that of the cortical fields remote from the source of catecholaminergic fibers.

Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) controls the expression of multiple anti/proapoptotic genes, including those in the nervous cells. Intranuclear deacetylation and acetylation events are implicated in the regulation of NF-κB transcriptional activity. The goal of the work was to demonstrate the transcriptional activity of NF-κB in the sensory neurons in vitro and to find out whether NF-κB activity could be controlled by modification of acetylation processes, using a transgenic line of NF-κB reporter mice in which activation of NF-κB drives the expression of the lac-z gene. We show that the expression of the reporter gene was absent in transgenic neurons cultured in normal growth medium or stimulated by TNF-α. However, NF-κB transcriptional activity in most neurons was induced by in vitro exposure to Trichostatin A, which is a specific inhibitor of histone deacetylases. Taken together our results show that the transcriptional activity of NF-κB is limited in sensory neurons due to a transcriptional repression mechanism mediated by histone deacetylases.

The purpose of this study was to detect the interrelationship between the increased serum concentration of the medium weight molecules (MWM) and echinocytosis, to establish the rate of echinocyte appearance in blood in endogenous and exogenous intoxications and the dependence of echinocytosis on phosphacol and carbophos doses or the degree of endogenous intoxication. Two series of studies were conducted. In the 1st series, the experiments were conducted on outbred albino rats. Rats of the 1st group received phosphacol in doses equal to 0.5, 5.0 and 50 LD50 , while the rats of the 2nd group were given carbophos in doses equal to 0.1 and 1.0 LD50. In the 2nd series, the blood of cats with chronic renal failure at uremic stage was studied (as an example of endogenous intoxication). In all the animals, serum MWM concentrations were measured together with the relative echinocyte content and echinocytes were examined with electrone microscope. The ability of MWM to influence erythrocyte deformation was evaluated. Increased MWM concentrations and echinocyte content was found in association with the increase of intoxication severity, while echinocyte percentage in cats' blood was augmented under the action of MWM.

The esophageal epithelium of vertebrates was studied in phylogenetic aspect and in patients with Barrett's esophagus (BE). The comparative investigation was undertaken to detect phylogenetic recapitulations in the course of BE development. The complex of histochemical methods for selective demonstration of mucins and proteins was used. It was shown that in the phylogenetic series amphibians-reptiles-mammals, the formation of a protective barrier occured in different ways. In BE, within the areas of metaplasia and dysplasia, partial recapitulation of a histochemical type of protective barrier, peculiar to the esophagus of amphibians and reptiles, seems to take place.

Complex histological analysis of vaginal wall muscular tissues was carried out in several species of laboratory animals (mature rats, cats, dogs) and humans. The muscular tunic of vaginal wall was found to be represented by two types of tissue: striated and smooth muscle. Striated muscular tissue of vagina has specific features and consists of two cellular differons: myosymplasts and satellite cells. The smooth muscular tissue is formed by a single cellular differon, in which undifferentiated, differentiating and differentiated cells could be distinguished. Phenotypically, within vaginal smooth muscular tissue, contractile and contractilesecretory smooth myocytes were demonstrated.

The purpose of this work was to study the anatomical features of transcranial approach to the cranioorbital area and the orbital cavity. The preparation of 32 orbits obtained from 16 human cadavers fixed in formalin, was performed. In the anatomical study, typical fronto-temporal extradural approach to the anterior cranial fossa was used, together with the micropreparation of the orbital structures from 3 intermuscular approaches. It was demonstrated that at different stages of transcranial approach, its parameters were mainly influenced by either craniometric indices, or anatomical peculiarities of orbital nerves and vessels position. The data obtained allow to plan the surgical intervention on the basis of results of radiological study and the data on frequency of various anatomical variants of an arrangement of ophthalmic artery branches.

Semi-conducting nanocrystals represent a new class of fluorescent inorganic objects which have a promising perspective for the application in biology and medicine. The aim of the current work was a determination of advantages and shortcimingss of quantum dots (QD) application in immunocytochemistry. It was shown that streptavidin-QD conjugates have more advantages (i.e. high intensity of fluorescence, photostability, wide excitation range, short and symmetric emission range) as compared to streptavidin conjugates with organic fluorochromes. This allows to recommend the use of QD in immunocytochemical studies. However, there are several disadvantages (like lower stability during long-term storage as compared to that one of organic fluorochrome conjugates, poor safety of aliquots, impossibility of long-term preservation of fluorescence of stained sections during their storage, incompatibility with several commercial mounting media) that limit the widespread application of nanocrystals in immunocytochemical studies