Improvement of Memory by Means of Ultra-Low Doses of Antibodies to S-100B Antigen

Antigen S-100B of nervous tissue, according to the data of numerous studies, affects the mechanisms of nervous system plasticity and memory. The influence of ultralow doses of antibodies to S-100B (6C dilution, according to the homeopathic pharmacopoeia) has been studied on three learning behavioral models on Wistar rats, which were inhibitory avoidance, choosing of bowls with sucrose and feeding behavior cessation after auditory signal. For all three tasks, parameters of reproduction of the learned skills improved after per oral administration of potentiated antibodies to S-100B antigen immediately after learning. Possible mechanisms of the anti-S-100B antibodies influence on memory formation are discussed

A Comparison of the Dynamics of S100B, S100A1, and S100A6 mRNA Expression in Hippocampal CA1 Area of Rats during Long-Term Potentiation and after Low-Frequency Stimulation

The interest in tissue- and cell-specific S100 proteins physiological roles in the brain remains high. However, necessary experimental data for the assessment of their dynamics in one of the most important brain activities, its plasticity, is not sufficient. We studied the expression of S100B, S100A1, and S100A6 mRNA in the subfield CA1 of rat hippocampal slices after tetanic and low-frequency stimulation by real-time PCR. Within 30 min after tetanization, a 2–4 fold increase of the S100B mRNA level was observed as compared to the control (intact slices) or to low-frequency stimulation. Subsequently, the S100B mRNA content gradually returned to baseline. The amount of S100A1 mRNA gradually increased during first hour and maintained at the achieved level in the course of second hour after tetanization. The level of S100A6 mRNA did not change following tetanization or low-frequency stimulation

A high coverage reference transcriptome assembly of pea (<i>Pisum sativum</i> L.) mycorrhizal roots

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is an ancient mutualistic symbiosis formed by 80–90 % of land plant species with the obligatorily biotrophic fungi that belong to the phylum Glomeromycota. This symbiosis is mutually beneficial, as AM fungi feed on plant photosynthesis products, in turn improving the efficiency of nutrient uptake from the environment. The garden pea (Pisum sativum L.), a widely cultivated crop and an important model for genetics, is capable of forming triple symbiotic systems consisting of the plant, AM fungi and nodule bacteria. As transcriptomic and proteomic approaches are being implemented for studying the mutualistic symbioses of pea, a need for a reference transcriptome of genes expressed under these specific conditions for increasing the resolution and the accuracy of other methods arose. Numerous transcriptome assemblies constructed for pea did not include mycorrhizal roots, hence the aim of the study to construct a reference transcriptome assembly of pea mycorrhizal roots. The combined transcriptome of mycorrhizal roots of Pisum sativum cv. Frisson inoculated with Rhizophagus irregularis BEG144 was investigated, and for both the organisms independent transcriptomes were assembled (coverage 177x for pea and 45x for fungus). Genes specific to mycorrhizal roots were found in the assembly, their expression patterns were examined with qPCR on two pea cultivars, Frisson and Finale. The gene expression depended on the inoculation stage and on the pea cultivar. The investigated genes may serve as markers for early stages of inoculation in genetically diverse pea cultivars

Основы психофармакогенетического подхода к терапии аффективных расстройств депрессивного спектра

This article is dedicated to rationale of pharmacotherap y in the treatment of depressive disorders. Differentiation of allele gene variances, linked to metabolism of antidepressants, was conducted. Genetic status of patients and individual parameters of antidepressant’s metabolism took into account in every clinical case. Results of this research can allowed to forecast effectivene ss, compliance and tolerance of antidepressants.Исследование нацелено на фармакогенетическое обоснование подбора медикаментозной терапии аффективных расстройств депрессивного спектра. В работе использовалась аллель-специфичная полимеразная цепная реакция для дифференциации аллельных вариантов генов, связанных с метаболизмом антидепрессантов. Обосновано определение генетического статуса пациента для оптимального подбора патогенетической терапии c учетом индивидуальных параметров метаболизма лекарственного средства в каждом клиническом случае, что позволит прогнозировать ее максимальную эффективность, комплаентность и переносимость

Two Novel Amyloid Proteins, RopA and RopB, from the Root Nodule Bacterium Rhizobium leguminosarum

Amyloids represent protein fibrils with a highly ordered spatial structure, which not only cause dozens of incurable human and animal diseases but also play vital biological roles in Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. Despite the fact that association of bacterial amyloids with microbial pathogenesis and infectious diseases is well known, there is a lack of information concerning the amyloids of symbiotic bacteria. In this study, using the previously developed proteomic method for screening and identification of amyloids (PSIA), we identified amyloidogenic proteins in the proteome of the root nodule bacterium Rhizobium leguminosarum. Among 54 proteins identified, we selected two proteins, RopA and RopB, which are predicted to have β-barrel structure and are likely to be involved in the control of plant-microbial symbiosis. We demonstrated that the full-length RopA and RopB form bona fide amyloid fibrils in vitro. In particular, these fibrils are β-sheet-rich, bind Thioflavin T (ThT), exhibit green birefringence upon staining with Congo Red (CR), and resist treatment with ionic detergents and proteases. The heterologously expressed RopA and RopB intracellularly aggregate in yeast and assemble into amyloid fibrils at the surface of Escherichia coli. The capsules of the R. leguminosarum cells bind CR, exhibit green birefringence, and contain fibrils of RopA and RopB in vivo.This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant 17-16-01100

Время реакции в ответ на эмоциональные стимулы (включая фотопортреты с различной мимикой) в ходе фМРТ-исследования лиц с легкой и умеренной депрессией, дистимией

Objective. Estimation of the response time and accuracy of emotional stimuli during the fMRI task fulfillment in participants suffering from mild to moderate depressive disorder or from dysthymic disorder.Materials and methods. 21 subjects with mild to moderate depressive disorder or dysthymic disorder (D) participated, and 21 healthy volunteers (H) matched by age and sex ratio were included in the control group.  In two fMRI paradigms subjects were observing photos of the faces with different emotional expressions. The first task was to guess the gender of the people on the screen, and the second one was to recognize the emotion experienced by the person in the photo. In the third paradigm participants were sorting different images into pleasant and unpleasant. The subjects responded by pressing one of two buttons. The response time and accuracy were the subjects of analysis.Results. On the most of the computed parameters patients with depressive disorder did not differ from controls. However, in the first paradigm these subjects demonstrated slower reaction to neutral (H = (1415 ± 408) ms,  D = (1 878 ± 850) ms; t = 2.25; p &lt; 0,05) and disgusted (H = (1 183 ± 310) ms, D = (1 526 ± 646) ms; t = 2.20; p &lt; 0.05) expressions, and greater standard deviations of the response time to disgusted (H = (219 ± 125) ms,  D = (675 ± 645) ms; t = 3.18; p &lt; 0,01), happy (H = (445 ± 310) ms, D = (836 ± 579) ms; t = 2.73;  p &lt; 0.05), surprised (H = (580 ± 438) ms, D = (1 043 ± 785) ms; t = 2.36; p &lt; 0,05), and neutral  (H = (487 ± 416) ms, D = (895 ± 727) ms; t = 2.23; p &lt; 0.05) faces. On the second stage group of participants with depressive disorder had greater standard deviation of the response time to disgusted portraits (H = (1 506 ± 1 273) ms, D = (2 168 ± 1 355) ms; U =131; p &lt; 0.05). Moreover, subjects diagnosed with a depressive disorder less often chose the answer “happy” (H = (6,8 ± 1,1) ms, D = (6.0 ± 0.8) ms; U = 131; p &lt; 0.05) while guessing the emotion in the photo.Conclusion. Participants diagnosed with mild to moderate depressive disorder or dysthymic disorder perform significantly slower than healthy ones during the “background” processing of the facial expressions and also tend to identify mimic as happy less often than controls while aiming to recognize the feelings of others. However, the role of these features in the progress of depressive disorders and their perspectives as diagnostic markers are subjects for further research.Цель исследования – оценить время и содержание реакций на эмоциональные стимулы в процессе фМРТ-исследования у лиц с легким или умеренным депрессивным эпизодом или дистимией.Материалы и методы. В исследовании приняли участие группа (21 человек) с диагностированным легким или умеренным депрессивным эпизодом или дистимией (Д) и контрольная группа (21 волонтер) (З), идентичных по полу и возрасту. В двух задачах испытуемые, находясь внутри магнитно-резонансного томографа, воспринимали изображения лиц с различной эмоциональной мимикой. В первой пробе от участников требовалось определить пол людей на портретах, во второй – переживаемые ими эмоции. В третьей задаче предъявлялись изображения, которые нужно было разделить на нравящиеся и не нравящиеся. Ответ давался нажатием одной из двух кнопок. Оценивались время реакции и содержание ответов.Результаты. По большинству рассчитанных параметров лица с депрессивным эпизодом не отличались от условно здоровых людей. Тем не менее в первой задаче эти испытуемые характеризовались более медленной реакцией на лица с нейтральной мимикой (З = (1 415 ± 408) мс, Д = (1 878 ± 850) мс; t = 2,25; p &lt; 0,05) и выражением отвращения (З = (1 183 ± 310) мс, Д = (1 526 ± 646) мс; t = 2,20; p &lt; 0,05) и большим стандартным отклонением времени реакции на черты отвращения (З = (219 ± 125) мс, Д = (675 ± 645) мс; t = 3,18; p &lt; 0,01), радости (З = (445 ± 310) мс, Д = (836 ± 579) мс; t = 2,73; p &lt; 0,05), удивления (З = (580 ± 438) мс, Д = (1 043 ± 785) мс; t = 2,36; p &lt; 0,05), а также на нейтральные портреты (З = (487 ± 416) мс, Д = (895 ± 727) мс; t = 2,23; p &lt; 0,05). Во второй задаче в группе лиц с депрессивным эпизодом большим было стандартное отклонение времени реакции для лиц с брезгливой мимикой (З = (1 506 ± 1 273) мс, Д = (2 168 ± 1 355) мс; U = 131; p &lt; 0,05). Кроме того, эти участники несколько реже выбирали ответ «радость» для характеристики мимики лиц (З = (6,8 ± 1,1) мс, Д = (6,0 ± 0,8) мс; U = 131; p &lt; 0,05).Заключение. Показаны достоверное замедление реакций лиц с легким и умеренным депрессивным эпизодом в контексте «фоновой» обработки эмоциональной экспрессии и их тенденция реже определять мимику как радостную при целенаправленном распознавании чувств других людей. Однако изучение роли этих особенностей в развитии депрессивных расстройств и как диагностических маркеров требует дальнейших исследований

Expression of p53 Target Genes in the Early Phase of Long-Term Potentiation in the Rat Hippocampal CA1 Area

Gene expression plays an important role in the mechanisms of long-term potentiation (LTP), which is a widely accepted experimental model of synaptic plasticity. We have studied the expression of at least 50 genes that are transcriptionally regulated by p53, as well as other genes that are related to p53-dependent processes, in the early phase of LTP. Within 30 min after Schaffer collaterals (SC) tetanization, increases in the mRNA and protein levels of Bax, which are upregulated by p53, and a decrease in the mRNA and protein levels of Bcl2, which are downregulated by p53, were observed. The inhibition of Mdm2 by nutlin-3 increased the basal p53 protein level and rescued its tetanization-induced depletion, which suggested the involvement of Mdm2 in the control over p53 during LTP. Furthermore, nutlin-3 caused an increase in the basal expression of Bax and a decrease in the basal expression of Bcl2, whereas tetanization-induced changes in their expression were occluded. These results support the hypothesis that p53 may be involved in transcriptional regulation during the early phase of LTP. We hope that the presented data may aid in the understanding of the contribution of p53 and related genes in the processes that are associated with synaptic plasticity

Psychopharmacogenetic approach in therapy of affective disorders depressive spectrum

This article is dedicated to rationale of pharmacotherap y in the treatment of depressive disorders. Differentiation of allele gene variances, linked to metabolism of antidepressants, was conducted. Genetic status of patients and individual parameters of antidepressant’s metabolism took into account in every clinical case. Results of this research can allowed to forecast effectivene ss, compliance and tolerance of antidepressants