PHENOTYPIC VARIABILITY OF FERTILITY TRAITS OF PURE BREED SOWS IN FIRST THREE FARROWINGS**

**Original scientific paper (originalni naucni rad) Abstract: Investigation of the phenotypic variability of fertility traits was performed on Swedish Landrace sows (926 sows) deriving from single herd in Serbia. Data was processed by method of least squares (Harvey, 1990), and following fixed factors were included into the model: sire, season, litter genotype and order of farrowing, as well as regression effect of age at first farrowing, duration of lactation and number of reared (raised) piglets per litter. Traits of litter size varied (P<0.01) under the influence of sire and order of parities (first two parities). Number of still born as well as reared piglets per litter depended on the litter genotype (P<0.01). Year and season had no effect on variation of litter size traits except LWW (first two and three parities). Age of sows at first farrowing demonstrated linear effect (P<0.01) on size of their litter at farrowing (first three parities). Litter size and weight at weaning were under regression effect of lactation duration as well as corrected litter size (CLS) or number of weaned piglets (NW)

Thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI): a molecular link between coagulation and fibrinolysis

Although the maintenance of precise balance between coagulation and fibrinolysis is of utmost importance for normal haemostasis, until recently these two systems were considered as completely separate mechanisms involved in the process of formation and dissolution of blood clot. Thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) is a recently described attenuator of the fibrinolytic rate and is considered to be the molecular link between coagulation and fibrinolysis. TAFI circulates in plasma as an inactive precursor and its conversion in active enzyme (TAFIa) occurs by the action of thrombin or plasmin, but most efficiently by thrombin in the presence of its cofactor thrombomodulin. Once generated, TAFI down-regulates fibrinolysis by removing C-terminal lysine residues from partially degraded fibrin; thereby preventing the upregulation of plasminogen binding and activation. Because TAFI is activated by thrombin on one side, and acts as the attenuator of fibrinolysis on another side, it enables fine synchronization between these two systems. The antifibrinolytic function of TAFI mostly depends on TAFI concentration, the rate of its activation and the half-life of TAFIa in plasma. Changes in thrombin generation can have a profound effect on the rate of TAFI activation, and consequently on the rate of fibrinolysis. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that increased thrombin generation seen in thrombophilia patients may enhance TAFI activation, leading to a hypofibrinolytic state, which may further contribute to the thrombotic tendency. However, the results of several studies, in which relation between TAFI level and the occurrence of thromboembolic complications in carriers of hereditary thrombophilia have been investigated, were not consistent

Characterization of a novel 21-kb deletion, CFTRdele2,3 (21kb), in the CFTR gene: a cystic fibrosis mutation of a Slavic origin common in Central and East Europe.

We report a large genomic deletion of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, viz., a deletion that is frequently observed in Central and Eastern Europe. The mutation, termed CFTRdele2,3(21 kb), deletes 21,080 bp spanning introns 1-3 of the CFTR gene. Transcript analyses have revealed that this deletion results in the loss of exons 2 and 3 in epithelial CFTR mRNA, thereby producing a premature termination signal within exon 4. In order to develop a simple polymerase chain reaction assay for this allele, we defined the end-points of the deletion at the DNA sequence level. We next screened for this mutation in a representative set of European and European-derived populations. Some 197 CF patients, including seven homozygotes, bearing this mutation have been identified during the course of our study. Clinical evaluation of CFTRdele2,3(21 kb) homozygotes and a comparison of compound heterozygotes for \u394F508/CFTRdele2,3(21 kb) with pairwise-matched \u394F508 homozygotes indicate that this deletion represents a severe mutation associated with pancreatic insufficiency and early age at diagnosis. Current data show that the mutation is particularly common in Czech (6.4% of all CF chromosomes), Russian (5.2%), Belorussian (3.3%), Austrian (2.6%), German (1.5%), Polish (1.5%), Slovenian (1.5%), Ukrainian (1.2%), and Slovak patients (1.1%). It has also been found in Lithuania, Latvia, Macedonia and Greece and has sporadically been observed in Canada, USA, France, Spain, Turkey, and UK, but not in CF patients from Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania or Serbia. Haplotype analysis has identified the same extragenic CF-haplotype XV-2c/KM. 19 'A' and the same infrequent intragenic microsatellite haplotype 16-33-13 (IVS8CA-IVS17bTA-IVS17bCA) in all examined CFTRdele2,3(21 kb) chromosomes, suggesting a common origin for this deletion. We conclude that the 21-kb deletion is a frequent and severe CF mutation in populations of Eastern- and Western-Slavic descent