A complex study of the protein composition of the biologically active components of the extracts of the velvet deer antlers (VDA, include Cervus nippon and Cervus elaphus) using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE), size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), and peptide mapping with high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-MS) with the use of fermentation by trypsin was done. A molecular-mass distribution characteristic for protein extracts of VDA has been established. Optimal conditions for extraction, chromatographic separation and relative quantitative determination of the main components have been determined. The results of the identification of the most significant (major and minor) protein components in the extracts of the studied objects are described in detail in accordance with the algorithm of the search program Spectrum Mill MS Proteomics Workbench and the protein database Uniprot. The data of protein profiling are clustered according to molecular and biological functions. The connections of the identified proteins with possible mechanisms of biological action and targets, which can be affected by the protein components of the studied objects, are presented. Based on the results of the study, conclusions about the multicomponent protein composition of extracts of VDA were drawn. The marker protein components in the studied extracts are suggested and the possible interrelationships of the detected proteins in the extracts with biological effects are indicated.

This paper presents the results of investigations aimed at studying the combined effect of the course of moderate normobaric hypoxia (MNH) and pulsed magnetic field (PMF) on nonspecific resistance to acute hypoxia in rats. It is established that the combined application of MNH and PMF is followed by the effects of additivity, thus increasing the nonspecific resistance of rats to acute hypoxic hypoxia.

Genome editing technologies are currently based on the use of one from the three classes of nucleases, i.e. a zinc finger, TAL or CRISPR-Cas. Drawbacks inherent in each of these approaches, though not being critical for animal or in vitro experiments, significantly limit their application in human genome editing. Considerable experience has so far been accumulated in the field of using gene-editing technologies for the treatment and prevention of genetic diseases, transmissible and viral infections. However, further progress is hampered by various technical and ethical problems. It is the task of expert communities and the state that genomic editing methods be smoothly integrated into everyday practices without significant social upheavals.

A high-frequency electrical activity across the range of 30–100 Hz, known as gamma rhythms, is observed in many regions of the brain. This phenomenon serves to synchronize the activity of various neural networks intended to process, transmit, store and receive information. Gamma rhythms play a key role in such processes of higher nervous activity as attention, sensory perception and memory formation. Impairment of gamma rhythms is a common symptom of diseases associated with cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and schizophrenia. Recent studies have shown that a particular population of GABAergic-inhibiting neurons, i.e. parvalbumin-positive (PV+) interneurons, is the source of high-frequency oscillations. Maintenance of gamma rhythms is an extremely energy-intensive process that relies on a high rate of oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria of neurons and is limited by the presence of glucose. Insulin may be involved in the metabolic control of gamma oscillations, since PV+ interneurons selectively express the insulin-dependent glucose transporter GLUT4, which can provide an additional glucose influx under near-limit functioning conditions as in the case of high-frequency gamma oscillations. This review generalized available literature data on the relationship between metabolism and a high-frequency electrical brain activity, with an emphasis on the possible contribution of central insulin resistance to disturbances of gamma rhythms in the brain.

This article presents the results of studies aimed at investigating the cytokine profile of laboratory mice, including novel data on the cytokine status of transgenic mice NAT1hom and NAT2hom. The investigation of cytokines in the blood serum of laboratory animals was carried out using multiplex xMAP-analysis on magnetic particles. For mice of inbred lines C57BL/6 and Balb/c, data is presented with respect
to changes in the quantitative content of cytokines in the blood plasma after a single injection of the Polymuramyl and Tacrolimus drugs. Effects of the Tacrolimus immunosuppressant and the Polymuramyl
immunomodulator on the mouse cytokine profile were estimated. 
A particular attention was paid to the dynamics of the concentration of the tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α) as one of the most important criteria of the biological action of immunomodulators. The production of TNF-α in experimental immunosuppression was determined. The immunomodulating properties of Polymuramyl were confirmed under the conditions of acute inflammation by simulating influenza in mice. It is established that transgenic humanized mice of NAT1hom and NAT2hom lines can be successfully used in immunological studies and search for new pharmacological regulatory molecules metabolized with the participation of body acetylation systems. The obtained data are compared with the effect of inginate — an effective inhibitor of N-acetyltransferase (NAT2) — on the cytokine status. This drug is characterized by a pronounced immunomodulating effect on the production of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha.

This paper describes a technique for producing anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibodies (Ab2) against two morphine derivatives. The specificity of the obtained antibodies was investigated using enzyme immunoassay. The biological activity of the antibodies was studied using an in-vitro model of human glioblastoma T98G cell line prolifer ation.

Investigation of the brain pathology in experimental ischemia requires adequate methods for assessing the neurological deficit that occurs in laboratory animals, including sensory-based and behavioural disorders. In this research, we aimed to compare motor and behavioural disorders in rats with partial and subtotal experimental cerebral ischemia. The rats modelled with cerebral ischemia are found to exhibit a decrease in muscle strength, resistance to hypoxia, motor and emotional activity. The animals with incomplete cerebral ischemia demonstrated more pronounced sensory-based motor and behavioural disorders compared both with those modelled with partial cerebral ischemia and, in particular, with the control group.

The model of chronic immune inflammation caused by the administration of Freund’s complete adjuvant (CFA) into a hind paw of rats is used as a model of rheumatoid arthritis. Under this condition, the joints of other limbs, along with those subject to the action of CFA, are damaged. The aim of this study was to compare the severity of the inflammatory process in rats with a primary reaction (edema of the left hind paw) and a secondary immunological inflammatory response (edema of the right hind paw) towards a sub-plantar injection of CFA in the left hind paw of the experimental animals.
Inflammation was induced by the sub-plantar administration of 0.1 ml of CFA into the left hind paw of outbred rats. Such indicators as the edema of the metatarsus and the ankle joints of the hind paws, the weight of the animals and the skin temperature of the paws were recorded on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th day of the experiment. The pain threshold was recorded using a plantar test on the 15th day. Hematological parameters were assessed on the 14th and 28th day.
Both a primary reaction and a secondary immunological reaction was developed on the 7th day of the experiment in 11 out of 20 animals having received CFA, while the rest of the rats demonstrated inflammation exclusively in the left hind paw. On the 7th day of the experiment, the animals with inflammation showed a higher skin temperature in the hind paws compared to the control group. The maximum edema in the rats with a primary reaction and secondary immunological inflammatory response was recorded on the 14th day of the experiment. On the 14th day, the rats with induced inflammation showed an increase in a number of hematological parameters, with the elevation being more pronounced in the animals with generalized inflammation. As a result of inflammation, pain sensitivity increased in both groups of animals with induced inflammation. In these groups, both a decrease in the edema of the paws and the normalization of hematological parameters were observed on the 28th day of the experiment. It is concluded that the most pronounced inflammatory reaction has developed by the 14th day following CFA administration, with its intensity having reduced by the 28th day. These results might be useful when assessing the pharmacological activity of various compounds using this model.