PREVALENCE OF DRUG RESISTANT HIV STRAINS IN HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE

The prevalence of drug resistant HIV strains among HIV-positive reproductive aged persons with ineffective antiretroviral therapy (ART) was assessed. The prevalence of drug resistant strains of HIV was 73.8% in the group of women and 89.29% in the group of men (totally in 80.0% of patients). In the spectrum of drug resistance mutations (DRMs) the most prevalent mutation associated with high-level resistance to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors was substitution M184V (80.36%); in addition, the high prevalence of K65R (26.79%) was indicated. The most common mutations causing a high-level resistance to nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors were G190S/A (57.14%), Y181C (37.50%), K101E (33.93%). The DRMs to protease inhibitors were indicated with significantly less frequent (5.36%)

Increasing the Adaptive Capacity of the Organism When Exposed to Adverse Environmental Factors Through Phytoadaptogens

The Problem of improving the quality of life of the population in modern conditions is the most relevant. The level of human health largely depends on the quality of the environment. Of special importance are the risk factors for the spread of diseases like environmental pollution, social conditions and bad habits. To the emergence of ecologically dependent diseases leads the combined impact of technogenic, social-economic, natural-climatic factors. The introduction of the principles of biotechnology, nanotechnology and innovations in industrial processing of plant resources, especially natural adaptogens, contributes to the production of balanced, ecologically clean food products functional purpose, the use of which will significantly minimize the adverse effects of the environment on humans

The selection pressure on the neuraminidase gene of influenza viruses isolated in Ukraine from 2009 to 2015

A broad range of naturally occurring antigenic variants of the influenza virus is caused by its rapid evolutionary variability. The survival of viable influenza virus variants occurs through natural selection. The treatment of influenza infection with modern antiviral drugs – neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors – leads to the occurrence of mutations in the NA gene, which thereby result in the emergence of virus resistance to these drugs. The goal of this study was to determine the selection pressure on the NA protein of influenza viruses isolated in Ukraine from 2009 to 2015. The main method for assessing the selection pressure on proteins is to quantify the ratio of substitution rates at nonsynonymous (dN) and synonymous (dS) sites. With the help of this method, we showed that only a few codons in the NA gene were under positive selection resulting in mutations at the following sites: for influenza A viruses of the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype – site 40, for viruses of the A(H3N2) subtype – sites 93 and 402, for Influenza B viruses of the B/Yamagata lineage – sites 74, 99, and 268, and for the viruses of the B/Victoria lineage – sites 358, 288, and 455. These sites are not associated with the NA active site, transmembrane domain, or the antigenic sites of this protein. We concluded that NA inhibitors are not a significant factor in the process of selection of the influenza viruses in Ukraine because the sites associated with the resistance of influenza viruses to NA inhibitors were not affected by positive selection. This finding could be explained by the limited use of NA inhibitors for the treatment of influenza infections in Ukraine. A broad range of naturally occurring antigenic variants of the influenza virus is caused by its rapid evolutionary variability. The survival of viable influenza virus variants occurs through natural selection. The treatment of influenza infection with modern antiviral drugs – neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors – leads to the occurrence of mutations in the NA gene, which thereby result in the emergence of virus resistance to these drugs. The goal of this study was to determine the selection pressure on the NA protein of influenza viruses isolated in Ukraine from 2009 to 2015. The main method for assessing the selection pressure on proteins is to quantify the ratio of substitution rates at nonsynonymous (dN) and synonymous (dS) sites. With the help of this method, we showed that only a few codons in the NA gene were under positive selection resulting in mutations at the following sites: for influenza A viruses of the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype – site 40, for viruses of the A(H3N2) subtype – sites 93 and 402, for Influenza B viruses of the B/Yamagata lineage – sites 74, 99, and 268, and for the viruses of the B/Victoria lineage – sites 358, 288, and 455. These sites are not associated with the NA active site, transmembrane domain, or the antigenic sites of this protein. We concluded that NA inhibitors are not a significant factor in the process of selection of the influenza viruses in Ukraine because the sites associated with the resistance of influenza viruses to NA inhibitors were not affected by positive selection. This finding could be explained by the limited use of NA inhibitors for the treatment of influenza infections in Ukraine.

Еластографія зсувної хвилі в оцінці морфологічних змін підшлункової залози при хронічному панкреатиті

Мета. Встановити чутливість і специфічність еластографії зсувної хвилі в оцінці морфологічних змін підшлункової залози (ПЗ) при хронічному панкреатиті (ХП). Матеріали і методи. Проведено ретроспективний аналіз доопераційних результатів еластографії зсувної хвилі з даними морфологічних досліджень біоптатів ПЗ, отриманих у 68 пацієнтів, оперованих з приводу ускладнень ХП (основна група), і 30 пацієнтів без ознак ХП (контрольна група). Результати. Застосування методу еластографії зсувної хвилi в оцінці морфологічних змін ПЗ при ХП дало змогу розробити діагностичну модель високої якості з чутливістю 80,1% і специфічністю 86,4%. За кольоровим патерном та показниками жорсткості паренхіми ПЗ верифіковано морфологічні зміни органа в стадії раннього і пізнього фіброзу на тлі активного та неактивного запалення його паренхіми.Висновки. Виділені найбільш достовірні цифрові показники еластографії зсувної хвилi в неінвазивній оцінці активності запалення та стадії фіброзної трансформації ПЗ при ХП

Functional Insights into Genic Neighbourhood Organization of Helitron Transposons in Bos taurus Genomes

Transposable elements (TEs) represent well-known factors of genomic variability and evolution. TEs are important providers of regulatory elements that are able to significantly influence the architecture and expression of the host genome. Currently, of a special interest are the DNA transposons helitrons. They are supposed to be involved in horizontal transfer of genetic material between distant taxa and to dramatically impact the host genomes via phenomena of exon-shuffling and gene capture. Thereby, and due to their high level of polymorphism and relatively high frequency in the eukaryotic genomes, helitrons can be used as “anchors” for genome scanning of different breeds of farm animals aimed at revealing their “gene pool standards”. Currently, there are no comprehensive studies dedicated to helitrons and their interaction and impact on host genomic landscape in cattle (Bos taurus). Earlier we showed the possibility of using the 3’-end consensus sequence of Heligloria helitrons for estimation of consolidation of different cattle breeds via multilocus genotyping. In the present study, in order to investigate the context features of the DNA regions flanked by the inverted repeats of Heligloria helitrons fragments in Bos taurus genomes, we pyrosequenced such fragments (of about 550 bp in length) from three cattle breeds and analyzed the functional implications of the identified genes. Thus, here we provide an insight into the functional organization of the genic neighbourhood of helitron transposons in the genomes of different Bos taurus breeds and an attempt to understand possible consequences of such distribution of helitrons on these genome

Давление отбора на ген нейраминидазы вирусов гриппа, выделенных в Украине с 2009 по 2015 гг

A broad range of naturally occurring antigenic variants of the influenza virus is caused by its rapid evolutionary variability. The survival of viable influenza virus variants occurs through natural selection. Treatment of influenza infection with modern antiviral drugs – neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors – leads to occurrence of mutations in the NA gene, which result in emergence of virus resistance to these drugs. The goal of this study was to determine the selection pressure on the NA protein of influenza viruses isolated in Ukraine from 2009 to 2015. The main method for assessing the evolutionary pressure on proteins is to quantify the ratio of substitution rates at nonsynonymous (dN) and synonymic (dS) sites. With the help of this method we showed that only a few codons in the NA gene were under the positive selection resulting in mutations at the following sites: for influenza A viruses of A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype – site 40, for viruses of A(H3N2) subtype – sites 93 and 402, for B/Yamagata lineage viruses – sites 74, 99, and 268, and for the B/Victoria lineage viruses – sites 358, 288, and 455. These sites are not associated with NA active site, transmembrane domain, or the antigenic sites of this protein. We concluded that NA inhibitors are not a significant factor in the process of selection of the influenza viruses in Ukraine because sites associated with the resistance of influenza viruses to NA inhibitors were not affected by positive selection. This finding could be explained by the limited use of NA inhibitors for the treatment of influenza infections in Ukraine.Большое разнообразие существующих в природе антигенных вариантов вируса гриппа вызвано его быстрой эволюционной изменчивостью. Отбор жизнеспособных вариантов вируса гриппа происходит за счет естественного отбора. Лечение гриппозной инфекции с помощью современных противовирусных препаратов – ингибиторов нейраминидазы (NA) – приводит к возникновению мутаций в гене NA, которые ведут к появлению резистентности вирусов к данным препаратам. Цель работы состояла в определении давления отбора на белок NA вирусов гриппа, выделенных в Украине в период с 2009 по 2015 год. Основным методом оценки эволюционного давления на белки является определение количественного соотношения частот замен в несинонимических (dN) и синонимических сайтах (dS). С помощью этого метода мы показали, что лишь некоторые кодоны в гене NA были под влиянием положительного отбора: для вирусов гриппа типа А подтипа A(H1N1)pdm09 – сайт 40, для вирусов подтипа A(H3N2) – сайты 93 и 402, для вирусов гриппа типа B разновидности B/Yamagata – сайты 74, 99 и 268, и для вирусов разновидности В/Victoria – сайты 358, 288 и 455. Указанные сайты не связаны ни с активным центром NA, ни с трансмембранным доменом, ни с антигенными сайтами. Ингибиторы NA не являются селективным фактором отбора вирусов гриппа в Украине, поскольку, сайты, ассоциированные с резистентностью вирусов гриппа к ингибиторам NA, не попали под влияние положительного отбора, что, вероятно, объясняется низким уровнем применения данных противовирусных препаратов в Украине

Supreme activity of gramicidin S against resistant, persistent and biofilm cells of staphylococci and enterococci.

Three promising antibacterial peptides were studied with regard to their ability to inhibit the growth and kill the cells of clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium. The multifunctional gramicidin S (GS) was the most potent, compared to the membranotropic temporin L (TL), being more effective than the innate-defence regulator IDR-1018 (IDR). These activities, compared across 16 strains as minimal bactericidal and minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC), are independent of bacterial resistance pattern, phenotype variations and/or biofilm-forming potency. For S. aureus strains, complete killing is accomplished by all peptides at 5 × MIC. For E. faecalis strains, only GS exhibits a rapid bactericidal effect at 5 × MIC, while TL and IDR require higher concentrations. The biofilm-preventing activities of all peptides against the six strains with the largest biofilm biomass were compared. GS demonstrates the lowest minimal biofilm inhibiting concentrations, whereas TL and IDR are consistently less effective. In mature biofilms, only GS completely kills the cells of all studied strains. We compare the physicochemical properties, membranolytic activities, model pharmacokinetics and eukaryotic toxicities of the peptides and explain the bactericidal, antipersister and antibiofilm activities of GS by its elevated stability, pronounced cell-penetration ability and effective utilization of multiple modes of antibacterial action