Based on the World Health Organization statistics, cardiovascular diseases represent the major cause of death worldwide. Although a wide range of treatment approaches and pharmaceuticals is available, the therapy is often not effective enough and therefore health risks for the patient persist. Thus, it is still essential to test new drug candidates for the treatment of various pathophysiological conditions related to cardiovascular system. In vivo models represent indispensable part of preclinical testing of such substances. Anesthetized guinea pig as a whole-body model allows to evaluate complex reactions of cardiovascular system to tested substance. Moreover, action potential of guinea pig cardiomyocyte is quite comparable to that of human. Hence, the results from this model are then quite well translatable to clinical medicine. Aim of this paper was to summarize the methodology of this model, including its advantages and/or limitations and risks, based on the effects of two substances with adrenergic activity on the ECG parameters. The model of anesthetized guinea pig proved to be valuable and suitable for testing of drugs with cardiovascular effects.
An annotated checklist of the tribe Mirini (Miridae: Mirinae) recorded on the Korean peninsula is presented. A total of 113 species, including newly described and newly recorded species are recognized. Three new species, Apolygus hwasoonanus Oh, Yasunaga & Lee, sp. n., A. seonheulensis Oh, Yasunaga & Lee, sp. n. and Stenotus penniseticola Oh, Yasunaga & Lee, sp. n., are described. Eight species, Apolygus adustus (Jakovlev, 1876), Charagochilus (Charagochilus) longicornis Reuter, 1885, C. (C.) pallidicollis Zheng, 1990, Pinalitopsis rhodopotnia Yasunaga, Schwartz & Chérot, 2002, Philostephanus tibialis (Lu & Zheng, 1998), Rhabdomiris striatellus (Fabricius, 1794), Yamatolygus insulanus Yasunaga, 1992 and Y. pilosus Yasunaga, 1992 are reported for the first time from the Korean peninsula. Korean specimens previously identified as Eurystylus luteus Hsaio, 1941 are correctly recognized as E. sauteri Poppius, 1915. Three new synonyms are proposed: Apolygus atriclavus Kim & Jung, 2016 syn. n. of A. xanthomelas Yasunaga & Yasunaga, 2000, A. josifovi Kim & Jung, 2016 syn. n. of A. subpulchellus (Kerzhner, 1988) and Capsus koreanus Kim & Jung, 2015 syn. n. of C. wagneri Remane, 1950. Dorsal habitus photographs of the newly described or recorded species are presented along with figures of the genitalia of the new species. Keys to Korean genera and to species of Apolygus and Stenotus are provided. Zoogeography of the East Asian Mirini fauna is also discussed., Minsuk Oh, Tomohide Yasunaga, Ram Keshari Duwal, Seunghwan Lee., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Skulls, jaws and teeth of wild terrestrial small mammals (Sciuridae, Soricidae, Erinaceidae, Talpidae, Gliridae, Arvicolidae, Muridae) are occasionally affected by anomalies and pathologies. The present study documents a total of 362 anomalies and 122 pathological changes across 20 different species. These are all based on data published in Germany, supplemented by our own records. Cases were classified into 14 different categories, according to bone and dental anomalies, fractures and inclusions, bone proliferation, dental disease and extreme wear of teeth. An additional category to specifically account for bone proliferation of the skull was not needed, but such findings are to be expected. The most frequent finding was abnormal tooth growth, particularly the elongation of the upper incisors. In individual cases, there was evidence that small mammals are able to recover even from serious injuries to the skull.
Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) plays a central role in the inflammatory process. In the skin, it contributes to immune containment of tick-transmitted pathogens like Borrelia burgdorferi. In the saliva of some tick species, active compounds are present that inhibit detection of TNF in specific ELISA. We compared the presence of anti-TNF activity in saliva or salivary gland extract from 11 tick species from the family Ixodidae and demonstrated it in genera Ixodes Latreille, 1795 and Haemaphysalis Koch, 1844. Analysis of anti-TNF activity in Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus, 1758) saliva during the feeding period showed that it is present in the late, rapid phase of engorgement. Significance of anti-TNF activity for tick feeding and transmission of tick-borne pathogens is discussed., Markéta Rezková, Jan Kopecký., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) is a major obstacle to the long-term success in kidney transplantation. Diagnosis of ABMR is determined according to the internationally recognized Banff criteria. However, a significant proportion of patients does not meet all the defined criteria, and the outcome of such cases remains poorly understood. The histology of ABMR frequently lacks sensitivity and specificity. More importantly, mixed forms of ABMR and T cell-mediated rejection as well as findings of nonspecific injury are common in clinical settings. Donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies (DSA) are detectable only in half of the ABMR cases by histology. Prognostic role of non-HLA antibodies against various endothelial proteins has been discussed. Antibody independent NK cell activation reflecting killer-cells’ inhibitory receptor incompatibility is suggested in microvascular inflammation in DSA negative patients. Molecular assessment of ABMR has been prioritized to overcome high interobserver variability and improve diagnostics in mixed forms of rejections and in DSA negative cases. Finally, donor-derived cell-free DNA detected in a recipient’s peripheral blood sample has been proposed as a noninvasive marker for diagnosis of graft rejection, and thus might serve as a liquid biopsy in the near future. Despite all achievements, diagnosing ABMR in kidney allografts remains to be a challenge in a significant number of cases.
This study aimed to examine the effect of dietary flavonoid isoquercitrin on ovarian granulosa cells using the immortalized human cell line HGL5. Cell viability, survival, apoptosis, release of steroid hormones 17β-estradiol and progesterone, and human transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2) and TGF-β2 receptor as well as intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation were investigated after isoquercitrin treatment at the concentration range of 5-100 μg.ml-1 . It did not cause any significant change (p>0.05) in cell viability as studied by AlamarBlue assay in comparison to control. No significant change was observed (p>0.05) in the proportion of live, dead and apoptotic cells as revealed by apoptotic assay using flow cytometry. Similarly, the release of 17β-estradiol, progesterone, TGF-β2 and its receptor were not affected significantly (p>0.05) by isoquercitrin as detected by ELISA, in comparison to control. Except for the highest concentration of 100 μg.ml-1 , which led to oxidative stress, isoquercitrin exhibited antioxidative activity at lower concentration used in the study (5, 10, 25, and 50 μg.ml-1 ) by hampering the production of intracellular ROS, in comparison to control, as detected by chemiluminescence assay (p<0.05). Findings of the present study indicate an existence of the antioxidative pathway that involves inhibition of intracellular ROS generation by isoquercitrin in human ovarian granulosa cells., Adriana Kolesárová, Katarína Michalcová, Shubhadeep Roychoudhury, Simona Baldovská, Eva Tvrdá, Jaromír Vašíček, Peter Chrenek, Ľuboslav Sanisló, Vladimír Křen., and Obsahuje bibliografii
About 30 percent of patients diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) progress to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The senescence of bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) seems to be one of the determining factors in inducing this drift. Research is continuously looking for new methodologies and technologies that can use bioelectric signals to act on senescence and cell differentiation towards the phenotype of interest. The Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer (REAC) technology, aimed at reorganizing the endogenous bioelectric activity, has already shown to be able to determine direct cell reprogramming effects and counteract the senescence mechanisms in stem cells. Aim of the present study was to prove if the anti-senescence results previously obtained in different kind of stem cells with the REAC Tissue optimization – regenerative (TO-RGN) treatment, could also be observed in BMSCs, evaluating cell viability, telomerase activity, p19ARF, P21, P53, and hTERT gene expression. The results show that the REAC TORGN treatment may be a useful tool to counteract the BMSCs senescence which can be the basis of AML drift. Nevertheless, further clinical studies on humans are needed to confirm this hypothesis.
Amiodarone seems to exhibit some antiviral activity in the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Here we have examined the SARS-CoV-2 disease course in the entire population of the Czech Republic and compared it with the course of the disease in patients treated with amiodarone in two major Prague’s hospitals. In the whole population of the Czech Republic SARSCoV-2 infected 1665070 persons (15.6 %) out of 10694000 (100 %) between 1 April 2020 and 30 June 2021. In the same time period only 35 patients (3.4 %) treated with amiodarone were infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus out of 1032 patients (100 %) who received amiodarone. It appears that amiodarone can prevent SARS-CoV-2 virus infection by multiple mechanisms. In in-vitro experiments it exhibits SARS-CoV-2 virus replication inhibitions. Due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, it may have beneficial effect on the complications caused by SARS-CoV-2 as well. Additionally, inorganic iodine released from amiodarone can be converted to hypoiodite (IO- ), which has antiviral and antibacterial activity, and thus can affect the life cycle of the virus.
The ants of the genus Protalaridris are revised based upon their morphology. Seven species are recognized; the type species (P. armata Brown, 1980) and six species described as new: P. aculeata Lattke & Alpert, sp. n., P. arhuaca Guerrero, Lattke & Alpert, sp. n., P. bordoni Lattke, sp. n., P. leponcei Delsinne & Lattke, sp. n., P. loxanensis Lattke, sp. n., and P. punctata Lattke, sp. n. The genus is patchily distributed in mesic forested areas from western Panama to northern Venezuela and along the Andes to the Amazon watershed of southwestern Peru. The generic description is modified to accommodate a short-mandibulate species. Sporadic biological observations of one long-mandibulate species suggest they are sit-and-wait ambush predators that open their jaws to approximately 180° when stalking. All species are described and imaged, an identification key and a distribution map is provided. Comparing the mandibular morphology of long-mandibulate Protalaridris with other extant and extinct ants bearing elongate, dorsoanterior arching mandibles suggests the supposed mandibular apex in these taxa is actually a hypertrophied, preapical tooth and their supposed basal mandibular tooth is the main mandibular shaft., John E. Lattke, Thibaut Delsinne, Gary D. Alpert, Roberto J. Guerrero., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Despite the fact that vessels have sparse cholinergic innervation, acetylcholine (ACh), the primary neurotransmitter of parasympathetic nervous system, has been commonly used in physiological experiments to assess vascular function. ACh is hydrolyzed by two cholinesterases (ChE), namely acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). However, little is known about these enzymes in blood vessels. The aim of the project was to characterize the expression and activity of ChE in rat aorta. As the effect of ACh on vascular tone depends on the presence of endothelium, Wistar rats were used as a model with intact endothelium and spontaneously hypertensive rats as a model of impaired endothelial function. Relative expressions of both ChE in different parts of the aorta were determined using RT-qPCR. Enzyme activities were assessed in tissue homogenates by Ellman's assay. Here we showed that both ChE are present in each part of rat aorta, while mRNA is more abundant for BChE than for AChE, irrespective of aortic compartment or genotype. Normotensive Wistar rats possess higher aortic mRNA expression and activity of BChE compared to SHR. We concluded that BChE is the dominant type of ChE in rat aorta and it might play an important role in the regulation of vascular tone., Kristína Szmicseková, Lenka Bies Piváčková, Zuzana Kiliánová, Ľubica Slobodová, Peter Křenek, Anna Hrabovská., and Obsahuje bibliografii