PREVENTIVE ZINC SUPPLEMENTATION EFFECT ON REDOX STATUS IN RAT MODEL OF MAFLD

Background. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). Antioxidant trace elements as cofactors of antioxidant enzymes and metalloproteins are involved in this process. Zinc being an important antioxidant may have a positive effect on the treatment of liver pathology. The study aimed to assess the effect of preventive zinc supplementation on MAFLD in rats. Materials and Methods. A total of 26 three-month-old female Wistar rats were used in the present study. The activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase, some redox status markers, such as ceruloplasmin, oxidized tryptophan, dithyrosines, total thiols, carbonyls, TBARS, and uric acid were evaluated. Oxidative stress biomarkers were studied spectrophotometrically. Results. MAFLD was accompanied by hyperuricemia and a decrease in serum dityrosines. The addition of Zn to the diet prevented the development of steatosis, decreased the level of oxidized tryptophan in the liver, and paradoxically caused hyperuricemia in the MAFLD model used. Zn supplementation had a positive effect on the prevention of MAFLD, had a little effect on redox status of animals but caused paradoxical hyperuricemia. Future studies are needed to establish the mechanisms of the Zn effect at the cellular level

Validation of determination of human α-amylase activity for patients with pancreatic diseas

Blood α-amylase activity is a key laboratory marker of pancreatic diseases. At the same time, some of the common laboratory methods of its measurement have a number of limitations. Therefore new more effective laboratory methods are currently being developed over those methods that have been already available. The aim of this work was to compare two methods of determination of the activity of total and pancreatic α-amylase in human blood based on using 4,6-ethylidene-(G7)-p-nitrophenyl-(G1)-α,D-maltoheptaoside (EPS-G7) and 2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl-4-O-β-D-galactopyranosylmaltoside (GalG2CNP) as substrates. Blood serum samples from patients with different levels of α-amylase activity were analyzed. The main analytical characteristics of the method with the GalG2CNP substrate were determined using purified α-amylase specimens. A high-sized correlation and high accuracy of the α-amylase isoenzymes activity were observed for the both methods. Therefore, the method for determining the activity of α-amylase using GalG2CNP as a substrate has analytical characteristics similar to the common laboratory method with EPS-G7, but at the same time, the existing advantages allow it to be recommended for wider application in clinical laboratory diagnostics and scientific research

Cervicovaginal-Microbiome Analysis by 16S Sequencing and Real-Time PCR in Patients from Novosibirsk (Russia) with Cervical Lesions and Several Years after Cancer Treatment

Disturbed cervicovaginal-microbiome (CVM) structure promotes human papillomavirus (HPV) persistence and reflects risks of cervical lesions and cancer onset and recurrence. Therefore, microbiomic biomarkers may be useful for cervical disease screening and patient management. Here, by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and commercial PCR-based diagnostic kits, we profiled CVM in cytological preparations from 140 HPV-tested women (from Novosibirsk, Russia) with normal cytological findings, cervical lesions, or cancer and from 101 women who had recently received different cancer therapies. An increase in lesion severity was accompanied by higher HPV prevalence and elevated CVM biodiversity. Post-treatment CVM was found to be enriched with well-known microbial biomarkers of dysbiosis, just as in cervical disease. Nonetheless, concentrations of some skin-borne and environmental species (which gradually increased with increasing lesion severity)—especially Cutibacterium spp., Achromobacter spp., and Ralstonia pickettii—was low in post-treatment patients and depended on treatment types. Frequency of Lactobacillus iners dominance was high in all groups and depended on treatment types in post-treatment patients. Microbiome analysis via PCR-based kits revealed statistically significant differences among all groups of patients. Thus, microbiome profiling may help to find diagnostic and prognostic markers for management of cervical lesions; quantitative PCR-based kits may be suitable for these purposes

Cervicovaginal-Microbiome Analysis by 16S Sequencing and Real-Time PCR in Patients from Novosibirsk (Russia) with Cervical Lesions and Several Years after Cancer Treatment

Disturbed cervicovaginal-microbiome (CVM) structure promotes human papillomavirus (HPV) persistence and reflects risks of cervical lesions and cancer onset and recurrence. Therefore, microbiomic biomarkers may be useful for cervical disease screening and patient management. Here, by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and commercial PCR-based diagnostic kits, we profiled CVM in cytological preparations from 140 HPV-tested women (from Novosibirsk, Russia) with normal cytological findings, cervical lesions, or cancer and from 101 women who had recently received different cancer therapies. An increase in lesion severity was accompanied by higher HPV prevalence and elevated CVM biodiversity. Post-treatment CVM was found to be enriched with well-known microbial biomarkers of dysbiosis, just as in cervical disease. Nonetheless, concentrations of some skin-borne and environmental species (which gradually increased with increasing lesion severity)—especially Cutibacterium spp., Achromobacter spp., and Ralstonia pickettii—was low in post-treatment patients and depended on treatment types. Frequency of Lactobacillus iners dominance was high in all groups and depended on treatment types in post-treatment patients. Microbiome analysis via PCR-based kits revealed statistically significant differences among all groups of patients. Thus, microbiome profiling may help to find diagnostic and prognostic markers for management of cervical lesions; quantitative PCR-based kits may be suitable for these purposes