Volume 61, Nº 1 (2016)

A detailed analysis of polypeptide-chain backbone conformations was carried out for polypeptide-chain segments adjacent to β-turn regions, including the sites of disallowed conformations. A cross comparison of conformations was performed for disallowed regions of the Ramachandran plot and main types of β-turns and adjacent secondary structures. Based on the results, disallowed region 2 (II, II') in the Ramachandran plot was shown to coincide mainly with β-hairpins and, more exactly, twisted β-hairpins. The frequency of residues with angles ϕ_i, ψ_i that fall in region 2 (II, II') in the latter is 140 times higher than in common β-hairpins.

The physiologically active metal ions with fixed valence Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ were shown to accelerate epinephrine autoxidation at an alkaline pH, which proceeds via the known quinoid pathway and is accompanied by the generation of reactive oxygen species. A higher efficiency was observed for Ca²⁺ ions compared with Mg²⁺ ions. The activation of epinephrine autoxidation was evident from a decrease in the time of the initiation of the chain reaction to begin (i.e., the reaction lag) and an increase in the rate of both oxygen uptake and the formation of adrenochrome. Based on the observed effects, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ cations were assumed to have the potential to play a role in the free radical processes that are associated with redox reactions in the cell and can also modulate the effect of epinephrine in the organism its oxidation via the quinoid pathway.

Ligand binding constants at the 3'- and 5'-ends of a fluorophore-labelled telomeric G-quadruplex structure were determined. The temperature dependence of the fluorescence quenching reflected that of the binding constants, which in turn was determined by the thermodynamic parameters of the formation of a DNA–ligand complex. Since the quenching of fluorescence can only be mediated by proximal ligand binding, this method allows the characterization of complexes at different ligand-binding sites.

The periodicity of nucleotide arrangement was studied for conserved regions of the regulatory modules of 16 early development genes in two Drosophila species. The relative disposition of the conserved segments was found to be a multiple of the length of one coil of the nucleosomal DNA superhelix. Homotypic and heterotypic clusters of transcription-factor binding sites were observed in the conserved regions. The sites are usually at a distance that corresponds to the coil length of superhelical DNA of the nucleosome. The transcription-factor binding sites were assumed to play a role in regulating DNA condensation according to the nucleosome type.

This work presents the results of spectral analysis of the time dependences, V(t), of endoplasmic shuttle motility in an isolated strand of plasmodium Physarum polycephalum that were obtained by laser Doppler microscopy after exposure to inhibitors of cellular respiration, viz., potassium cyanide and salicylhydroxamic acid, which lead to the complete cessation of endoplasmic motion. The results confirm the presence of only two harmonic components of V(t) dependences, with frequencies that differ by a factor of 2, ω₂/ω₁ = 1.972 ± 0.028, in different conditions: under normal conditions, without the addition of inhibitors; in a strand that was partially treated with inhibitors; and in the phase of restoring the oscillatory activity after the complete cessation of endoplasmic motion.

The results of a study of the temperature dependence of laser-induced fluorescence for four marine microalgae cultures that belonging to different taxonomic groups are described. The fluorescent properties of microalgae that were exposed to temperature stress up to irreversible changes in their cells have been examined. A comparative analysis has been performed and the models for the dependence of laser-induced fluorescence intensity on the temperature for the microalgal cell pigments have been constructed. The microalgae differ in both their dependence of fluorescence intensity on the thermal stress factor and the stress temperature value, which suggests that these characteristics are species specific.

Subtypes of inhibitory GABAergic neurons containing Ca²⁺-binding proteins play a pivotal role in the regulation of spontaneous synchronous [Ca²⁺]_i transients in a neuronal network. In this study it is shown that: (1) the interneurons that containing Ca²⁺-binding proteins at buffer concentration can be identified by the shape of Ca²⁺-signa1 in response to depolarization or activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors; (2) Ca²⁺-binding proteins are involved in desynchronization of spontaneous Ca²⁺ transients. At low frequencies of spontaneous synchronous [Ca²⁺]_i transients (less than 0.2 Hz) neurons show quasi-synchronous pulsations. At higher frequencies, synchronization of spontaneous synchronous [Ca²⁺]_i transients occurs in all neurons; (3) it is established that several synchronous oscillations with different frequencies coexist in the network and the amplitude of their depolarizing pulse also varies. This phenomenon is apparently the mechanism that selectively directs information in separate neurons using the same network; and (4) in one population of interneurons at high frequencies of spontaneous synchronous [Ca²⁺]_i transients the inversion of Cl^– concentration gradient is observed. In this case, the inhibition of GABA(A) receptors suppresses the activity of neurons in this population and excites other neurons in the network. Thus, the GABAergic neurons that contain Ca-binding proteins show different mechanisms to regulate the synchronous neuronal activities in cultured rat hippocampal cells.

The effect of a GSM 900/1800 mobile phone, which is a widespread source of electromagnetic radiation of the microwave frequency in the environment, on rabbits was studied at power densities of 5–7 μW/cm². The biological effect was recorded by a sensitive method for the detection of the physiological regulation of enzyme activity inside lymphocytes in blood smears. Succinate dehydrogenase, which is the most powerful energy-supply enzyme in mitochondria, and lactate dehydrogenase, which is an enzyme of glycolysis, were measured. The lactate dehydrogenase to succinate dehydrogenase activity ratio was also calculated as an analog of the Warburg effect, which demonstrates the relationship between glycolysis and respiration. After 60 min of mobile-phone exposure each day for 11 days at a moderate dose, the emitted radiation induced a threefold increase in succinate dehydrogenase activity and a twofold decrease in lactate dehydrogenase activity. As a result, the lactate dehydrogenase/succinate dehydrogenase activity ratio falls from 15 to 5, thus indicating that respiration is predominant over glycolysis. The changes develop already after the first exposure and reach a maximum in 4 days. The predominance of respiration is usually considered as a beneficial state of an organism. However, continuous activation of respiration by mobile phone exposure may cause damage to the normal restorative processes that are supported by glycolysis during periods of rest.

The influence of electromagnetic radiation of extremely high frequencies in the noise mode on the level of the activity of proand antioxidant systems in a model of skin-flap ischemia was studied in vivo. Rats of the Wistar line were used in this work. The cutaneous reflex projection field of the animals was exposed once a day for 7 days in the post-operative period to electromagnetic radiation of an extremely high frequency in the range from 53.57 to 78.33 GHz with a dose of 1.2 mJ in the noise mode. The dynamics of proand antioxidant protection were compared to those of intact animals that were not irradiated. Using data on induced biochemiluminescence and estimation of malondialdehyde activity it was shown that irradiation in a course mode contributed to a decrease in the intensity of lipid peroxidation. In parallel we observed an increase in the total antioxidant reserves of blood and the activity of bioradical protection enzymes. Our findings suggest that electromagnetic radiation at extremely high frequencies in a noise mode has a regulatory impact on the state of proand antioxidant systems of the body; this can be used for the correction of postoperative ischemic disorders and the restoration of disturbed homeostasis.

The characteristics of tension increase and decline, as well as those of the calcium transients, have been measured in the trabeculae of the right cardiac ventricle of the guinea pig and rat in the isometric contraction mode with different preloads. Measurements were performed at different temperatures of physiological saline and the effects of inhibition of calcium removal from the cytosol mediated by Na⁺–Ca²⁺ exchange and the ATP-dependent Ca²⁺ pump of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SERCA2a) were analyzed. Emergence of the “bump” phase (a phase of brief deceleration of the decay of the calcium transient) was observed in the guinea pig myocardium as the temperature was increased from 25 to 30°C; earlier observations of this phenomenon were reported only for rats. As the temperature was elevated to 35°C, the “bump” phase in the guinea pig myocardium transformed into a “plateau” phase of the calcium transient. The effect of temperature on the course of the decay of the calcium transient in the rat myocardium was negligible. In contrast, a gradual stretching of the right ventricular trabecula of the rat was accompanied by the emergence of the “bump” phase and a gradual increase of its parameters (amplitude, integral intensity, and duration), whereas preload did not exert a similar effect on the guinea pig myocardium. Selective inhibition of the reverse mode of Na⁺–Ca²⁺ exchange did not affect the characteristics of the decay of the calcium transient in guinea pig myocardium. Selective inhibition of SERCA2a in the guinea pig and rat myocardium had a significant modifying effect on the decay phase of the calcium transient and resulted in emergence of the “bump” phase or an increase in the intensity of this phase in the myocardium of these animal species. The characteristics of this phase can be used to quantify the length-dependent activation of myocardial contraction.

The goal of this work was to study the influence of nitric oxide inhalation on parameters of blood proand antioxidant systems in rats under both an intact condition and experimental thermal injury. We studied 40 Wistar rats that were divided into four equal groups. The intact group was subjected to no manipulation exñept a single blood sampling, main group I was subjected to inhalation of a air mixture containing 20 ppm of nitric oxide for 10 days, the control group was subjected to thermal injury and conventional treatment, and main group II was subjected to thermal injury and daily inhalation of nitric oxide (20 ppm) for 10 days. We studied the intensity of lipid peroxidation in the blood plasma, the total antioxidant activity, the peroxide resistance of erythrocytes, the level of malondialdehyde in the blood plasma and erythrocytes, and the activity of superoxide dismutase. It was shown that daily inhalations of a mixture containing a low concentration of nitric oxide (20 ppm) modified blood oxidative metabolism in healthy and burned rats. We hypothesized that the activation of lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes accompanied by a pronounced increase in the catalytic activity of superoxide dismutase is a unified response of healthy and burned rats to exogenous nitric oxide exposure. We also observed a moderate prooxidant effect in the blood plasma of healthy animals comparable to that in the erythrocytes of these rats. In the case of thermal injury, oxidative stress tended to be corrected after the end of the course of inhalation.

The Lotka–Volterra model of predator–prey dynamics was used for approximation of the wellknown empirical time series on the lynx–hare system in Canada that was collected by the Hudson Bay Company in 1845–1935. The model was assumed to demonstrate satisfactory data approximation if the sets of deviations of the model and empirical data for both time series satisfied a number of statistical criteria (for the selected significance level). The frequency distributions of deviations between the theoretical (model) trajectories and empirical datasets were tested for symmetry (with respect to the Y-axis; the Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Lehmann–Rosenblatt tests) and the presence or absence of serial correlation (the Swed–Eisenhart and “jumps up–jumps down” tests). The numerical calculations show that the set of points of the space of model parameters, when the deviations satisfy the statistical criteria, is not empty and, consequently, the model is suitable for describing empirical data.

The primary physical mechanism of the magnetoreception of weak magnetic fields is considered. It imposes limits on the magnetic biological effect at the stage prior to the involvement of specific biophysical and biochemical mechanisms, i.e., regardless of the nature of the target of the magnetic field. It has been shown that the biological effects of weak magnetic fields have, in general, non-linear and spectral properties. Observation of these characteristics gives information not only on the gyromagnetic ratio, but also on the parameters of the interaction between the target and its immediate surroundings. This makes it possible for one to develop schemes for the identification of the biophysical mechanisms of magnetoreception.