New serum biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis

Development of hypercellular invasive pannus tissue within synovial joints is a hallmark of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Pannus produces proteases that damage bone and cartilage. Non-invasive monitoring of pannus activity is important for clinical assessment of patients as well as for control of the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Available biomarkers are not satisfactory in terms of pannus specificity and sensitivity for monitoring local inflammation and bone erosion. Our goal is collecting clinical samples of synovial fluid and plasma from patients with RA and/or osteoarthritis (OA) to study the role of WNT signaling in pannus formation and developing set of serum biomarkers to monitor pannus activity

New arthritic pannus-specific protein promotes fibroblast motility and polarization

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the development of hypercellular pannus tissue in the affected joints of patients. Pannus invasiveness and activation correlates with stronger tissue destruction and worse clinical prognosis. Using murine arthritis model, we recently discovered that synovial concentration of Collagen Triple Helix Repeat-containing 1 (CTHRC1) message and protein is directly correlated with arthritis severity. In carcinogenesis, overexpression of CTHRC1 is associated with enhanced metastatic potential of solid tumors and increased cell motility. Our goal is to investigate the mechanism of synovial cell motility and invasiveness and the role of non-canonical WNT signaling in pannus development

Protective effect of peptide vaccination in murine infection with influenza virus

Vaccination is a major tool to protect people from seasonal infections of different strains of influenza virus that presently infects millions of individuals worldwide. Virus genome is highly polymorphic, and universal vaccine that protects against permanently changing virus is still under development. Despite notable differences between humans and rodents in the disease course, immunobiology and clinical evaluations, murine infectious models remain one of the major tools to test approaches for influenza vaccine development

The universal non-neuronal nature of parkinson's disease: a theory

Various recent developments of relevance to Parkinson's disease (PD) are discussed and integrated into a comprehensive hypothesis on the nature, origin and inter-cellular mode of propagation of late-onset sporadic PD. We propose to define sporadic PD as a characteristic pathological deviation in the global gene expression program of a cell: the PD expression-state, or PD-state for short. Although a universal cell-generic state, the PD-state deviation would be particularly damaging in a neuronal context, ultimately leading to neuron death and the ensuing observed clinical signs. We review why age accumulated damage caused by oxidative stress in mitochondria could be the trigger for a primordial cell to shift to the PD-state. We put forward hematopoietic cells could be the first to acquire the PD-state, at hematopoiesis, from the disruption in reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis that arises with age in the hematopoietic stem-cell niche. We argue why, nonetheless, such a process is unlikely to explain the shift to the PD-state of all the subsequently affected cells in a patient, thus indicating the existence of a distinct mechanism of propagation of the PD-state. We highlight recent findings on the intercellular exchange of mitochondrial DNA and the ability of mitochondrial DNA to modulate the cellular global gene expression state and propose this could form the basis for the intercellular propagation of the PD-state

Protective effect of peptide vaccination in murine infection with influenza virus

Vaccination is a major tool to protect people from seasonal infections of different strains of influenza virus that presently infects millions of individuals worldwide. Virus genome is highly polymorphic, and universal vaccine that protects against permanently changing virus is still under development. Despite notable differences between humans and rodents in the disease course, immunobiology and clinical evaluations, murine infectious models remain one of the major tools to test approaches for influenza vaccine development

Genetic homongeneity and major histocompatibility complex haplotyping of white mice

Inbred murine strains are generated to insure genetic homogeneity and uniqueness and define immune characteristics, like major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotype, of the experimental model. Maintaining of the perfect inbred stock leads to increased level of homozygosity and sometimes encounters a problem of inbreeding depression and consequently deviation from strict inbreeding protocol. Our goals are (i) study genetic homogeneity of mice in the colony, and (ii) haplotyping of H-2 complex (MHC in mice) in this strain

Problems and prospects of sugar beet cultivation in Kazakhstan (Changed title according to reviewers' comments)

Received: May 21st, 2023 ; Accepted: August 5th, 2023 ; Published: October 24th, 2023Purpose - to ensure the food security of Kazakhstan, domestic sugar industry should aim at a significant reduction in import dependence and transition to self-sufficiency. The share of domestic sugar from sugar beet in Kazakhstan is 7%. Design/methodology/approach - review indicating the main problems in the sugar beet production in Kazakhstan for the purpose of reimagining the domestic sugar beet industry to reduce dependence on sugar import. We analyzed the dynamics of sugar beet cultivation in Kazakhstan over the past 20 years and detected a sharp reduction in the sugar beet production. Findings - we have identified 10 problems in sugar beet production in Kazakhstan and determined the necessary targeted solutions. We consider the main direction to be the development of scientific methodology for sugar beet production (breeding of new highly productive disease-resistant cultivars, improvement of sugar beet protection system, efficient crop rotation). The most notable problems included in this paper are small-scale marketability of sugar beet farms, infectious diseases of sugar beet, water supply shortages, use of outdated agricultural technologies, high cost of imported sugar beet seeds. Originality/value - The present paper includes a full analysis of current problems in sugar beet production in Kazakhstan

Serum collagen triple helix repeat-containing (CTHRC1) levels is associated with circulating stem cell factor and pro-inflammatory cytokines in rheumatoid arthritis

Everyday monitoring disease activity of chronic inflammatory diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a tempting approach for every patient for attaining personalized treatment strategies. Still underdeveloped area of RA biomarkers needs sensitive and specific analytes. CTHRC1 was found earlier expressed in activated synoviocytes and present in circulation that makes it potential valuable RA marker