In the 21st century, none of the scientists denies the determining role of the cardiovascular system and its central organ, the heart. The ongoing attempts to design new medications, elaborate effective trainings, heart transplant... more
In the 21st century, none of the scientists denies the determining role of the cardiovascular system and its central organ, the heart. The ongoing attempts to design new medications, elaborate effective trainings, heart transplant programs testify that humanity does not abandon attempts to improve and prolong human life, especially given the fact that the world’s biggest killer is ischemic heart disease. The most significant achievements in this field receive the highest rating in the scientific community – the Nobel Prize. In 1998, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad “for their discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in cardiovascular system”. Their discovery triggered an international boom in research on nitric oxide. The paper aims to outline briefly the main stages of the scientific activity of R.F. Furchgott, L.J. Ignarro and F. Murad.
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Diphtheria is a highly contagious life-threatening disease caused by the toxi genic strains of Corynebacterium diphtheria, which are transformed by a bacteriophage carrying the toxin gene. Diphtheria causative agent and its major... more
Diphtheria is a highly contagious life-threatening disease caused by the toxi genic strains of Corynebacterium diphtheria, which are transformed by a bacteriophage carrying the toxin gene. Diphtheria causative agent and its major virulence factor diphtheria toxin are well studied, but outbreaks of disease still occur worldwide. Rapid development of new methods in immunology and molecular biology is currently leading to improvement of prophylaxis, diagnosis and treatment of diphtheria. This review highlights the microbiological, epidemiological and immunological aspects of diphtheria infection, role of diphtheria toxin and others virulence factors in diphtheria pathogenesis and role of humoral anti-toxic immunity in the protection against disease. Perspectives in development of new diagnostic tests, anti-diphtheria vaccines, immunobiological preparations and antidotes for prevention of diphtheria infection, and other anti-diphteria means was also discussed.
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Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors of α7 subtype (α7 nAChRs) are involved in regulating neuroinflammation and cognitive functions. Correspondingly, α7-/- mice demonstrate pro-inflammatory phenotype and impaired episodic memory. In... more
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors of α7 subtype (α7 nAChRs) are involved in regulating neuroinflammation and cognitive functions. Correspondingly, α7-/- mice demonstrate pro-inflammatory phenotype and impaired episodic memory. In addition, nAChRs expressed in mitochondria regulate the release of pro-apoptotic factors like cytochrome c. Here we studied whether the cognitive deficiency of α7-/- mice can be cured by oral consumption of either nicotine or N-stearoylethanolamine (NSE), a lipid possessing anti-inflammatory, cannabimimetic and membrane-stabilizing activity. Mice were examined in Novel Object Recognition behavioral test, their blood, brains and brain mitochondria were tested for the levels of interleukin-6, various nAChR subtypes and cytochrome c released by ELISA. The data presented demonstrate that both substances stimulated the raise of interleukin-6 in the blood and improved episodic memory of α7-/- mice. However, NSE improved, while nicotine worsened the brain mitochon...
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Diphtheria toxin (DT) is the main pathogenicity factor of Corynebacterium diphtheria, the diphtheria causative agent bacteria. The DT tertiary structure is formed by three domains. The catalytic C-domain corresponds to subunit А, and... more
Diphtheria toxin (DT) is the main pathogenicity factor of Corynebacterium diphtheria, the diphtheria causative agent bacteria. The DT tertiary structure is formed by three domains. The catalytic C-domain corresponds to subunit А, and subunit B (SubB) consists of the transmembrane T-domain (Td) and receptor-binding R-domain (Rd). T-domain possesses pH-triggered hydrophobic properties. It is responsible for DT-endosomal membrane interaction and translocation of subunit A into the cytosol. To examine the effect of Td on endosomal trafficking, we created two types of fusion proteins that were based on SubB (i.e. Rd + Td) or on Rd alone. SubB and Rd were simultaneously labeled with different fluorescent labels and added to Vero cells. They had a low initial colocalization, which increased linearly to almost 70% at 75 min after adding to the Vero cells. Rd showed faster colocalization with early and late endosome and lysosomal markers compared to SubB. Using the live cell imaging techniqu...