Fiziologicheskiĭ zhurnal最新文献

The content of alpha-tocopherol in brain, liver, heart and muscle of Wistar rats has been studied. The water-soluble form of alpha-tocopherol: alpha-tocopheryl-phosphate dipotassium is more effective than the oil-soluble form: alpha-tocopheryl-acetate.

Two groups of practically healthy elderly and old people were investigated. The first group consisted of 265 aborigens of three Abkhazian villages examined under field conditions, and the second group was composed of 227 inhabitants of Ukraine, the patients of clinic at Institute of Gerontology in Kiev. It was established that changes of the lung ventilation parameters typical of ageing were less pronounced in the Abkhazian inhabitants than in the Ukrainian ones. Ageing dynamics and values of the studied parameters were the same in Abkhazians: relatives of the long-living people and Abkhazians without hereditary predisposition to longevity. This fact permits a conclusion that the peculiarities of the respiratory system ageing in the Abkhazian population are mainly due to the environmental factors.

The influence of ionizing irradiation (1, 2 and 4 Gy 137Cs) on both the activity of free-radical processes in plasma, formed elements and aorta wall as well as on the character of contractile vascular reactions of isolated rings of thoracic aorta and carotid artery in rabbits has been studied. The experiments were carried out on the 7th day after the whole-body irradiation. The results indicate that simultaneously with the weakening of antioxidant mechanisms both endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vascular wall relaxation slightly decreases after 1 Gy exposure. Noradrenaline and KCI-induced contraction is shown to increase. However, these changes are not statistically significant. Irradiation in dose of 2 and 4 Gy considerably decreases endothelium-dependent relaxation. Nitroglycerin-induced relaxation greatly diminishes, KCI- and noradrenaline-induced constriction considerably increases in these conditions. The level of activation of free-radical processes considerably increases too. Thus, already on the 7th day after irradiation significant changes in reactivity of vascular wall are developed. Radiation injures both endothelium and vascular smooth muscle cells. The free-radical processes seem to be the main cause of radiation vascular damage, so there is a pronounced correlation between the changes of vascular contractile properties and the degree of activation of these processes.

The experiments on the juvenile male Wistar rats (4-5 weeks old) were carried out to show the effects of damage of the lateral septal nucleus (LSN) on the gonads of rats caged under different photoperiodic regimes: natural change of light and dark phases of the day, constant light and darkness for 24 hours. A short (week) exposition of rats to the permanent light or darkness stimulates or inhibits gonads, respectively. Lesion of LSN in rats caged under permanent light or darkness inhibits the morpho-functional state of the reproductive system and hormone-producing function of testes. The changes are much more pronounced in rats caged under permanent darkness. The possible mechanisms of LSN influence on the photoperiodic changes of the reproductive system of male rats are under discussion.

The influence of the thymus on the growth hormone (GH) level in the mouse hypophysis has been studied. It has been found, that syngeneic transfer of thymocytes of young mice into thymectomized mice causes on increase of the growth hormone level in the hypophysis. Administration of hydrocortisone simultaneously with transfer of thymocytes accelerated the GH level increase. The administration of only hydrocortisone into thymectomized mice does not lead to changes in the GH level. The increased GH level was observed when thymocytes were replaced by some structures shedding from thymocytes after their stimulation with short peptide thymic hormone. It is supposed that thymocytes can stimulate GH accumulation in the hypophysis.

Frozen spleen of mice immunized with vaccine from S. sonnei has been homogenized in the isotonic saline solution and centrifuged. That supernatant has been shown to inhibit antibody immune response to thymus-dependent antigens (sheep and rabbit erythrocytes) and hypersensitivity of the delayed type to splenocytes of guinea pig. The supernatant did not inhibit the antibody formation to thymus-independent antigen (bacterial lipopolysaccharide). Immunosuppressive activity of the supernatant disappeared after treatment with anti-immunoglobulin (but not anti-O-antigen) immunosorbent. The spleen of immunized mice is concluded to contain a factor which inhibits T-cell link of the immune system and is of the immunoglobulin nature.

ACTH-producing function of adenohypophysis in posterity of female rats with chronic liver injury in different periods of early postnatal ontogenesis has been examined as well as the functional state and reserve potentialities of adenohypophysis in case of immobilized stress. The obtained findings indicate the decreased reserve potentialities of the hypophyso-adrenal system in the process of adaptation to stress loads.

Data on the effect of adaptation to hypoxia on the cardio-vascular system responses and arterial pressure regulation have been considered. The role of sympathoadrenal system rearrangement in regulation of cardiac output and vascular tension has been analyzed. The data on the possible role of water-salt metabolism changes in a decrease of arterial pressure after long-term effect of hypoxia are presented. It is concluded that hypoxic training is a promising trend of prevention and treatment of arterial hypertension.

To obtain the characteristics of the main changes in oxidative metabolism in the neurons of the nucleus vestibularis anterior (NVA) under the influence of low frequency vibration in rat brain the activities of some dehydrogenases (NADN-DH, NADPH-DH, succinate-DH, malate-DH, beta-oxybutyrate-DH, alpha-glycerolphosphate-DH, lactate-DH, glutamate-DH and 6-phosphogluconate-DH) were measured using histochemical methods. The sizes of subpopulations of neurons differing in enzyme activities were estimated.

It has been established that inhibition of spontaneous migration activity of blood monocytes and peritoneal macrophages takes place in the offspring of animals with chronic liver damage of different etiology. Besides, the enhancement of the migration inhibition reaction of the studied macrophages has been revealed.