Vol 474, No 1 (2017)

A whole-transcriptome analysis of gene expression in six samples of clear cell renal cancer was performed. Using bioinformatics methods, we established a relationship between gene expression data and changes in activity of metabolic pathways: in this cancer type, the expression of genes involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids as well as in energy metabolism changed most significantly.

Functional unloading of m. soleus of male Wistar rats was found to cause a reduction in protein synthesis. The level of phosphorylation of the translation elongation factor 2 (eEF2) and the eEF2 kinase (eEF2k) activity in m. soleus after 14 days of unloading were assessed. Rats were divided into the control group (C) and the group with hindlimb unloading for 14 days (HU14). The level of eEF2 phosphorylation in group HU14 was 80%, whereas in the control is was 40%. The indices of eEF2k expression and protein content in group HU14 increased compared to group C.

By using the mass-spectrometry method, the oxidative modifications of the fibrinogen Aα, Bβ, and γ polypeptide chains induced by its oxidation have been studied. The αC-region has been proven to be the most vulnerable target for the oxidizer (ozone) as compared with the other structural elements of the Aα chain. The Bβ chain mapping shows that the oxidative sites are localized within all the structural elements of the chain in which the β-nodule exhibits high susceptibility to oxidation. The γ chains are the least vulnerable to the oxidizer action. The results obtained demonstrate convincingly that the self-assembly centers dealing with interactions of knob “A”: hole “a” are not involved in oxidative modification. It is concluded that the numerous oxidative sites revealed are mainly responsible for inhibiting lateral aggregation of protofibrils. The part of amino acid residues subjected to oxidation is supposed to carry out the antioxidant function.

We studied the effect of a heterogeneous environment on the stereoselectivity of transformation of racemic phenylglycine nitrile. Immobilized biocatalysts were prepared by adhesion of Pseudomonas fluorescens C2 cells on carbon-containing supports and covalent crosslinking of nitrile hydratase and amidase of Rhodococcus rhodochrous 4–1 to activated chitosan as well as by the method of cross-linked aggregates. At a reaction duration of 20 h, the ratio of phenylglycine stereoisomers changes depending on the presence of support in medium. The highest optical purity of the product (enantiomeric excess of L-phenylglycine solution, 98%) is achieved when enzyme aggregates of nitrile hydratase and amidase cross-linked with 0.1% glutaraldehyde are used as a biocatalyst.

A mathematical model of the DNA elongation stage is proposed, and a formula for calculating the characteristic time of doubling a DNA strand consisting of a large numbers of nucleotides was derived. It is shown that, when the number of nucleotides is greater than 50, it is fair to use a linear dependence of the elongation time on the number of nucleotides. Calculations of the DNA elongation time for a number of organisms are given.

The ATP pool in Escherichia coli is a magnetic-dependent characteristic of microorganism vital activity. It depends on the values of the external static magnetic field and the existence of magnetic moment of magnesium isotopes nuclei added to the growth nutrient medium. The combined effects of the magnetic field 70–95 mT and magnesium magnetic isotope ²⁵Mg on E. coli bacteria leads to increase intracellular concentration of ATP. Magnetic-field effects in the range of 0.8–16 mT, registered for all bacteria regardless of the magnesium-isotopic enrichment of nutrient medium, evidence about the sensitivity of intracellular processes to weak magnetic fields.

The gene encoding the transcription factor LEAFY was identified in the genome of the mycoheterotrophic plant, pinesap Monotropa hypopitys. In the transcriptomes of roots, bracts, and flowers of flowering pinesaps, the MhyLFY gene expression was absent. These data suggest the conservativeness of the LFY-dependent mechanism of flower meristem identity and flower formation in heterotrophic species with some differences associated to the specificity of development and the structure of such plants. The pinesap flowering under the control of the transcription factor MhyLFY may be initiated either in an embryonic inflorescence during spring dormancy release of adventitious root buds or in an inflorescence of a growing reproductive stem after photoperiodic induction.

We studied the genetic diversity of the Yakut population using exome sequencing. We performed comparative analysis of the Yakut population and the populations that are included in the “1000 Genomes” project and we identified the alleles specific to the Yakut population. We showed, that the Yakuts population is a separate cluster between Europeans and East Asians.

We compared the composition and content of fatty acids (FAs) in fish with different feeding habits (sardine (least) cisco Coregonus sardinella, goggle-eyed charr (pucheglazka) form of Salvelinus alpinus complex, humpback whitefish Coregonus pidschian, broad whitefish Coregonus nasus, boganid charr Salvelinus boganidae, and northern pike Esox lucius from an Arctic Lake. Feeding habits of the studied fish (planktivore, benthivore, or piscivore) significantly affected the composition of biomarker fatty acids and the ratio of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in their biomass. The hypothesis on a higher content of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids in the fish of higher trophic level (piscivores) when compared within the same taxonomic group (order Salmoniformes) was confirmed.

It is proposed to use the bioluminescent resonance energy transfer to solve the problem of creating the internal light sources in photodynamic therapy of cancer. Energy donor in the developed system is the oxidized form of the luciferase NanoLuc substrate furimamide, and acceptor is the phototoxic fluorescent protein miniSOG. It is shown that, in the proposed system, the photoinduced cytotoxicity of flavoprotein miniSOG in vitro depends on the intracellular localization, and the cytotoxic effect is 48% for the cytoplasmic localization of the fusion protein, 65% for the mitochondrial localization, and 69% for the membrane localization. The obtained data indicate that, for maximization of the photodynamic effect in vivo, it is appropriate to use the NanoLuc–miniSOG fusion protein in the membrane localization.

Earlier [4], we developed a two-stage scheme of the activation of expression of the ecdysone cascade gene ftz-f1 in Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells. In the first intron of the ftz-f1 gene, we found a binding site for the transcription activator DHR3. In this work, we studied the properties of this genomic element: the change in the histone modification level at different stages of transcription activation were analyzed, and data indicating the interaction of the intron element with the promoter were obtained. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that the studied genomic element exhibits the properties of an enhancer and functions at the stage of active gene transcription.