Category Archives: Uncategorized
“Oxford housewife” or the only british woman to have ever won the Nobel Prize in science? – Dorothy Hodgkin
V. M. Danilova*, S. G. Torkhova, S. V. Komisarenko
Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
*e-mail: valdan@biochem.kiev.ua
Received: 05 November 2024; Revised: 18 November 2024;
Accepted: 21 November 2024; Available on-line: 15 January 2025
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, a British chemist and Nobel Prize winner, who extended the method of X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of biomolecules that furthered the development of structural biology. In 1964, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for the determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances”, particularly vitamin B12 and antibiotic penicillin. Five years after winning the Nobel Prize, Dorothy Hodgkin also established the structure of insulin. Although The Daily Mail headlined her as an “Oxford housewife”, Dorothy Hodgkin overcame gender inequality to become the third woman in history to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and remains the only British woman researcher to be awarded the most prestigious prize in the sciences.
Rita Levi-Montalcini: a remarkable genius who inspires generations
M. V. Grigorieva*, V. M. Danilova, S. V. Komisarenko
Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
*e-mail: mvgrigorieva@biochem.kiev.ua
Received: 22 October 2024; Revised: 14 November 2024;
Accepted: 21 November 2024; Available on-line: 17 December 2024
Rita Levi-Montalcini, a renowned neuroscientist and brilliant scientist, left an unforgettable mark on science. She made history not only through her groundbreaking research but also as a figure with a unique and extraordinary life journey. Her courage, perseverance, and determination inspire new generations of scientists and individuals. Rita Levi-Montalcini became a symbol of success in a scientific world dominated by men. In 1986, her collaborative work with biochemist Stanley Cohen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research on “growth factors,” namely nerve growth factor (NGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF). This discovery fundamentally changed our understanding of nervous system development and laid the foundation for understanding many neurological diseases.
Radioimmunoassay and revolution in medical investigation: Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine (1977) Rosalyn Yalow – scientist with a fighting spirit
O. P. Matyshevska*, M. V. Grigorieva, V. M. Danilova, S. V. Komisarenko
Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
*e-mail: matysh@yahoo.com
Received: 28 October 2024; Revised: 18 November 2024;
Accepted: 21 November 2024; Available on-line: 17 December 2024
An intelligent but poor New York City girl, whom her parents saw in the future only as a teacher at best, Rosalyn Yalow after finishing school in 1937 went to all-female Hunter College and was the first woman with a degree in physics at a time when being a woman, much less a Jewish women, was a severe barrier to success. Although she was called somewhat aggressive and high-brow she became the first woman student in the physics department at the University of Illinois, the only woman among 400 members of the College of Engineering faculty and after receiving Ph. D the only women engineer at the Bronx Telecommunications Laboratory. By 1950, she established a radioisotope laboratorу in the Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital, one of the first in the United States. In collaboration with an M.D. Sol Berson, a research partnership with whom lasted for 22 years, Yalow investigated the metabolism of 131I-labeled insulin in diabetic patients and not only demonstrated for the first time the production of antibodies against such a small protein but also developed the breakthrough radioimmunoassay (RIA) to measure insulin concentration in patient’s blood with no radioactivity entered a body. This revolutionary technique began to be widely used around the world for measuring a variety of biological substances. In 1977 R. Yalow was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine “for developing radioimmunoassays of peptide hormones.” The review describes the scientific career and life path of this extraordinary woman.
C(60) fullerene effect on the functional activity of rat gastrocnemius muscle during its regeneration after the open injury
D. M. Nozdrenko1, O. O. Gonchar2, N. E. Nurishchenko1,
V. O. Stetska1, T. Yu. Matviienko1, Ya. V. Stepanyuk3,
K. I. Bogutska1, Yu. I. Prylutskyy1*
1ESC “Institute of Biology and Medicine”, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine;
2Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
3Medical Faculty, Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, Lutsk, Ukraine;
*e-mail: prylut@ukr.net
Received: 05 September 2024; Revised: 14 October 2024;
Accepted: 21 November 2024; Available on-line: 17 December 2024
Open injuries are one of the most common skeletal muscle traumas. The study aimed to estimate the effect of the oral administration of C60 fullerene aqueous solution (C60FAS) daily at a dose of 1 mg/kg on the restoration of rat skeletal muscle functional activity on the 5th, 10th and 15th day after the open trauma. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups of 12 animals in each: control, with muscle injury and with muscle injury+C60FAS. The isolated gastrocnemius muscle was subjected to open injury by transverse dissection with a depth of 1 mm. Stimulation of muscle efferents was carried out by electrical impulses generated using a strain gauge generator. The content of C-reactive protein, creatinine, lactate, reduced glutathione and the activity of catalase and superoxide dismutase in the rat blood were determined. According to the data obtained, application of C60FAS promotes the restoration of the functional activity of injured muscle, which was confirmed by a significant increase in gastrocnemius muscle force impulse, attenuation of the inflammatory and development of fatigue and normalization of pro- and antioxidant balance in the process of regeneration.
HIF-2α level in adolescents with chronic inflammatory pathology of the upper gastrointestinal tract
N. S. Shevchenko1,2, N. V. Krutenko1*, L. L. Sukhova2,
O. M. Tsiura1, H. O. Shlieienkova1, K. V. Voloshyn1
1V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine;
2State Institution “Institute for Children and Adolescents Health Care
at the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”, Kharkiv, Ukraine;
*e-mail: n.v.krutenko@karazin.ua
Received: 08 September 2024; Revised: 08 November 2024;
Accepted: 21 November 2024; Available on-line: 17 December 2024
Сhronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are among the most common pathological conditions in adolescents. A significant role in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal tract diseases is given to the functioning of the oxygen sensor system, the main mediator of which is hypoxia-inducible factor 2 (HIF-2α). Therefore, the purpose of the study was to determine the level of HIF-2α in the plasma of patients with chronic inflammatory pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, taking into account the endoscopic picture of the lesion, localization of the pathological process, age and gender of the patient. The study involved 70 adolescents aged 8-18 years with chronic gastroduodenitis (CGD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastric or duodenal ulcer and 25 peers who had been classified as healthy. The plasma concentration of HIF-2α was measured by a sandwich-linked ELISA. Helicobacter pylori infection was determined by urease test or by ELISA. According to the data obtained, the HIF-2α plasma level was higher in patients with chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal disease compared to the control group. In boys with chronic gastroduodenal disease, the level of HIF-2α was higher than in girls. CGD and GERD were characterized by a higher HIF-2α level in plasma than gastric and duodenal ulcers. The HIF-2α level did not depend on the age of the patients or the presence of Helicobacter pylori infection.
Edaravone reduces the markers of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in neocortex of rats with acute intracerebral hemorrhage and type 2 diabetes mellitus
V. L. Holubiev*, A. E. Lievykh, V. A. Tkachenko,
Yu. V. Kharchenko, V. I. Zhyliuk
Department of Pharmacology, Dnipro State Medical University, Dnipro, Ukraine;
*e-mail: 209@dmu.edu.ua
Received: 05 August 2024; Revised: 22 October 2024;
Accepted: 21 November 2024; Available on-line: 17 December 2024
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with a higher incidence of hemorrhagic stroke in a severe form. The aim of this study was to estimate the markers of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in the brain of rats with acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and T2DM after treatment with edaravone. T2DM was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of nicotinamide/streptozotocin, ICH – by stereotactic microinjection of bacterial collagenase. Rats were randomized into four groups: 1 – intact control; 2 – T2DM; 3 – T2DM+ICH; 4 – T2DM+ICH+edaravone 6 mg/kg/day. Edaravone (a drug to treat neural injury after acute cerebral ischemic stroke) was administered intraperitoneally for 10 days starting from the 60th day after diabetes mellitus induction and 30 min after ICH induction. Brain homogenates were assessed for the content of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs). The levels of TNF-α and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were measured with ELISA. The increased content of 8-OHdG and TNF-α in brain homogenates of animals of T2DM group compared to the control was shown. It was revealed that in brain homogenates of animals of T2DM+ICH group the content of these markers significantly exceeds that for T2DM group, and in addition, an elevated AOPPs level was observed. Our results demonstrated that edaravone prevented the elevation of TNF-α level, reduced oxidative DNA damage by decreasing 8-OHdG content, and attenuated the formation of AGEs and AOPPs in the brains of experimental animals. These findings suggest that edaravone may have therapeutic potential in diabetic patients with acute ICH.
Plasma gelsolin and matrix metalloproteinase-3 levels as diagnostic markers for psoriatic arthritis
Y. A. Zamzam1*, T. F. Mansour2, R. M. Salem3,
H. A. A. Hanout3, R. A. Mostafa1
1Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Egypt;
2Department of Internal Medicine (Rheumatology Unit), Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Egypt;
3Department of Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Faculty of medicine, Tanta University, Egypt;
*e-mail: yosrazamzam@yahoo.com
Received: 18 June 2024; Revised: 10 August 2024;
Accepted: 21 November 2024; Available on-line: 17 December 2024
Recent studies have revealed a high prevalence of undiagnosed psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in patients with psoriasis. Diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis has proven challenging because the symptoms of the disease are nonspecific, rheumatoid factor is not detectable, and acute phase reactant levels may be normal. Therefore, identifying soluble biomarkers for diagnosing PsA in psoriasis patients may help in early diagnosis and proper management. The aim of the work was to evaluate plasma gelsolin and matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) levels as potential markers for PsA. This case-control study included 25 healthy controls and 50 psoriasis patients, who were divided into 25 patients with psoriasis only and 25 patients with psoriatic arthritis. Plasma levels of gelsolin and MMP-3 were measured using ELISA. It was shown that patients with PsA had significantly lower gelsolin and significantly higher MMP-3 plasma levels compared to patients with psoriasis only. For detecting PsA, gelsolin and MMP-3 had sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 92 and 80% for each, respectively. Gelsolin level negatively while MMP-3 level positively correlated with such parameters as disease activity for psoriatic arthritis, composite psoriatic disease activity index, and inflammatory markers including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. It was concluded that plasma gelsolin and MMP-3 levels could serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosing PsA and monitoring the disease progression in PsA patients.
Purification and physico-chemical properties of Bacillus atrophaeus protease with elastolytic and fibrinogenolytic activity
O. V. Gudzenko1*, L. D. Varbanets1, V. O. Chernyshenko2,
Y. M. Stohnii2, A. M. Ostapchuk3, V. O. Ivanytsia3
1Institute of Microbiology and Virology named after D. K. Zabolotny,
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
2Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
3Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University, Odesa, Ukraine;
*e-mail: alena.gudzenko81@gmail.com
Received: 18 September 2024; Revised: 21 October 2024;
Accepted: 21 November 2024; Available on-line: 17 December 2024
Microbial proteases, among which proteases capable of cleaving elastin, fibrin, fibrinogen, and collagen, have been a matter of interest to researchers due to their significant biotechnological potential along with low production cost. We previously showed that Bacillus atrophaeus 08 synthesizes an extracellular protease complex that exhibits high elastolytic, fibrinogenolytic, fibrinolytic activity, and minor caseinolytic and collagenase activity. The aim of the work was to isolate and purify the Bacillus atrophaeus 08 protease from the culture liquid supernatant and to study the physicochemical properties and substrate specificity of enzyme preparation. Precipitation with ammonium sulfate of 90% saturation, gel-permeation and ion-exchange chromatography were used in the experiment. According to the data obtained, the yield of the purified enzyme with a molecular weight of about 30 kDa was 6%, its elastase activity increased 30 times (420 U/mg protein), and fibrinogenolytic activity 31.8 times (350 U/mg protein). In addition, it also exhibited fibrinolytic (35.3 U/mg protein), minor caseinolytic activity (1.2 U/mg protein) and no collagenase activity. The optimum of elastin hydrolysis was at 37°C, pH 3.0 and 9.0-10.0, the optimum for fibrinogen hydrolysis was 12°C, pH 4.0. SDS-PAAG electrophoresis showed that the Bβ-chain of fibrinogen was almost not cleaved even after 1 h of incubation with the enzyme, while the Aα-chain disappeared already at the 30th min with the production of fragments with M.W. of about 30-45 kDa. The activity of the studied enzyme preparation towards fibrin was much lower than towards fibrinogen.
Generation of the MCF-7 cell sublines with CRISPR/Cas9 mediated disruption of estrogen receptor alfa (ESR1) expression
L. O. Savinska1, S. A. Kvitchenko1,2, S. S. Palchevskyi1,
I. V. Kroupskaya1, A. V. Mazov1, O. M. Garifulin1, V. V. Filonenko1*
1Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
2ESC “Institute of Biology and Medicine”, Taras Shevchenko National Univercity of Kyiv, Ukraine;
*e-mail: filonenko@imbg.org.ua
Received: 28 October 2024; Revised: 05 November 2024;
Accepted: 21 November 2024; Available on-line: 17 December 2024
Supported by the literature, our initial hypothesis was that Estrogen Receptor alfa (ESR1) may function as a master regulator by influencing the expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes in cancer cells. To explore this further, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system to create MCF-7 sublines with down-regulated ESR1 expression and analyzed its impact on EMT initiation. By applying two distinct types of gRNA for gene editing, we established six MCF-7 cell sublines with either nearly complete or partial down-regulation of the ESR1 isoforms. Unexpectedly, the data obtained revealed no discernible impact of ESR1 down-regulation on EMT manifestation as Western blot and Real-Time qPCR analysis of selected clones revealed no changes in EMT markers expression. We suggested that those of the ESR1 isoforms, the expression of which was not affected by gene editing, could be crucial for the initiation of EMT. The obtained cell models will be used further to evaluate the activity of ESR1 isoforms.