Introduction Increased systemic oxidative stress is common in schizophrenia (SZ) patients. NADPH-oxidase 4 (NOX4) is the cell oxidoreductase, catalyzing the hydrogen peroxide formation. Presumably, NOX4 is the main oxidative stress factor in a number of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. We hypothesized that NOX4 may be involved in the oxidative stress development caused by the disease in the schizophrenic patients’ peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). Materials and methods The SZ group included 100 patients (68 men and 32 women aged 28 ± 11 years). The control group included 60 volunteers (35 men and 25 women aged 25 ± 12 years). Flow cytometry analysis (FCA) was used for DNA damage markers (8-oxodG, ɣH2AX), pro- and antiapoptotic proteins (BAX1 and BCL2) and the master-regulator of anti-oxidant response NRF2 detection in the lymphocytes of the untreated SZ patients (N = 100) and the healthy control (HC, N = 60). FCA and RT-qPCR were used for NOX4 and RNANOX4 detection in the lymphocytes. RT-qPCR was used for mtDNA quantitation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Cell-free DNA concentration was determined in blood plasma fluorimetrically. Results 8-oxodG, NOX4, and BCL2 levels in the PBL in the SZ group were higher than those in the HC group (p < 0.001). ɣH2AX protein level was increased in the subgroup with high 8-oxodG (p<0.02) levels and decreased in the subgroup with low 8-oxodG (p <0.0001) levels. A positive correlation was found between 8-oxodG, ɣH2AX and BAX1 levels in the SZ group (p <10−6). NOX4 level in lymphocytes did not depend on the DNA damage markers values and BAX1 and BCL2 proteins levels. In 15% of PBL of the HC group a small cellular subfraction was found (5–12% of the total lymphocyte pool) with high DNA damage level and elevated BAX1 protein level. The number of such cells was maximal in PBL samples with low NOX4 protein levels. Conclusion Significant NOX4 gene expression was found a in SZ patients’ lymphocytes, but the corresponding protein is probably not a cause of the DNA damage.

Introduction: cell-free plasma DNA (cfDNA) is used as a marker refl ecting the level of apoptosis in the human body under stress. Acute psychosis caused by endogenous (schizophrenia) and exogenous (alcohol intoxication) factors in the patient’s body is associated with oxidative stress. Presumably, cfDNA concentration in the blood plasma of patients with acute psychoses of endogenous and exogenous etiology is increased. The purpose of the study: comparative analysis of the cfDNA concentration in the blood plasma of treated and untreated patients with paranoid schizophrenia during the disease exacerbation, patients with alcoholic psychosis and healthy volunteers. Patients and methods: the concentration of cfDNA was determined in the blood plasma samples of 476 people: control group (n = 95); patients with schizophrenia in the acute stage of the disease (n = 334); patients with alcoholic psychosis (n = 47). Results: the concentrations of cfDNA in the plasma of patients with schizophrenia (median 931 ng/ml) is 2.2 times higher than in the control group (median 428 ng/ml) and 1.8 times higher than in the patients with alcoholic psychosis (504 ng/ml). For the patients with schizophrenia with high PANSS, we found the highest values of the cfDNA concentration in the blood plasma during psychosis, which indicates a more pronounced systemic process, which is accompanied by the cell death level increase. Conclusions: the concentration of cfDNA in the blood plasma could be used as a biochemical marker that refl ects the severity of the schizophrenia patient’ state upon admission to the hospital.

Цель исследования: определить информативность предикции летальности пациентов с сепсисом с помощью комбинации кандидатных маркеров -количественного содержания циркулирующей внеклеточной ДНК (вкДНК) в плазме и аллельных вариантов гена TLR9, кодирующего ДНК-распознающий клеточный рецептор TLR9.Материалы и методы. В исследование вошли пациенты из пяти ОРИТ четырех больниц (n=156). Пациентов разделили на 2 группы: (1) с сепсисом (по критериям СЕПСИС-3, 2016), (n=81) и с ОНМК (n=75). ВкДНК выделяли из плазмы пациентов органическими растворителями и определяли ее концентрацию на спектрофотометре, используя флуоресцентный интеркалирующий агент SYBR Green, связывающийся с ДНК с высокой аффинностью. Генотипирование аллельных вариантов гена TLR9 rs352162 проводили с помощью полимеразной цепной реакции с использованием тетрапраймеров с последующим электрофоретическим разделением продуктов и их визуализацией. Значения концентраций вкДНК сопоставляли с результатами генотипирования по TLR9 rs352162 и исходом в течение 30 дней после госпитализации.Результаты. По содержанию вкДНК пациенты с сепсисом (подгруппы с абдоминальным или неабдоминальным сепсисом) из двух разных больниц значимо не отличались, а концентрации вкДНК

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Background: pathogen heterogeneity and complexity are the main obstacles for schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) differential diagnosis in children. The role of oxidative stress in the molecular mechanisms of schizophrenia and autism pathogenesis is beyond doubt. Free radicals that accumulate during stress can cause oxidative modifications and the formation of breaks in the сell-free DNA (cfDNA) and nuclear DNA of blood cells. To date, it has been proven that 8-hydroxy-2’- deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) can be considered as an oxidative stress biomarker. However, it is still unclear how pronounced the genotoxic consequences of oxidative stress are in ASD of varying severity and in childhood onset schizophrenia (COS). Objective: to study the relationship between the oxidative DNA damage level in peripheral blood cells and the circulating cell-free DNA characteristics with the severity of COS and the course of ASD in children. Patients and methods: blood samples of 96 patients with childhood autism (CA — F84.0 according to ICD-10), atypical autism (AA — F84.1 according to ICD-10) and with childhood onset schizophrenia (COS — F20.8 according to ICD-10) were obtained from the Child Psychiatry Department of the Mental health research center. Blood samples of the control group (34 people) — from the collection of samples of the Research Centre for medical Genetics. The selection of patients was carried out using the clinical and psychopathological method. Cell-free DNA was isolated by extraction with organic solvents. The concentration of cfDNA was determined fluorimetrically. The level of 8-OHdG in cell-free DNA was determined by binding of the corresponding antibodies on membrane filters, endonuclease activity was determined by radial diffusion in a gel. G0-peripheral blood lymphocytes were isolated by gradient centrifugation. The level of 8-OHdG and the level of the phosphorylated form of histone H2AX (yH2AX) in G0-peripheral blood lymphocytes were analyzed in fixed cells by flow cytofluorometry using appropriate antibodies. Statistical processing was carried out using Microsoft Office Excel, Statistica 6.0, StatGraph. Results and conclusions: oxidative stress has different severity in ASD, occurring in severe form (AA) and mild/moderate form (CA). In CA, the level of oxidative damage to the DNA of lymphocytes tends to increase, but does not reach statistically significant level; the level of oxidative damage to cfDNA does not differ from the control. In AA and, to an even stronger extent, in COS, the level of oxidative damage to the DNA of cells and cfDNA is significantly increased, which indicates the development of systemic oxidative stress, which is not compensated by the body’s antioxidant system. The level of 8-OHdG in the composition of the cfDNA and DNA of the nuclei of peripheral blood cells can be a marker of oxidative stress, which is important not only for diagnosing the severity of the pathological process, but also for treatment regimens development for COS and ASD in children.

Primary cultures of postnatal human myoblasts are obtained. Their purity is assessed by cytochemical determination of alkaline phosphatase activity and electrophoretic analysis of the expression of muscle proteins in comparison with postnatal human fibroblasts.

Introduction: Mild cognitive impairments (MCI) accompanying aging are associated with oxidative stress. The ability of cells to respond to stress is determined by the protein synthesis level, which depends on the ribosomes number. Ribosomal deficit was documented in MCI. The number of ribosomes depends, together with other factors, on the number of ribosomal genes copies. We hypothesized that MCI is associated with low rDNA CN in the elderly person genome.Materials and Methods: rDNA CN and the telomere repeat (TR) content were determined in the DNA of peripheral blood leukocytes of 93 elderly people (61–91 years old) with MCI and 365 healthy volunteers (16–91 years old). The method of non-radioactive quantitative hybridization of DNA with biotinylated DNA probes was used for the analysis.Results: In the MCI group, rDNA CN (mean 329 ± 60; median 314 copies, n = 93) was significantly reduced (p &lt; 10–15) compared to controls of the same age with preserved cognitive functions (mean 412 ± 79; median 401 copies, n = 168) and younger (16–60 years) control group (mean 426 ± 109; median 416 copies, n = 197). MCI is also associated with a decrease in TR DNA content. There is no correlation between the content of rDNA and TR in DNA, however, in the group of DNA samples with rDNA CN &gt; 540, TR content range was significantly narrowed compared to the rest of the sample.Conclusion: Mild cognitive impairment is associated with low ribosomal genes copies in the elderly people genomes. A low level of rDNA CN may be one of the causes of ribosomal deficit that was documented in MCI. The potential possibilities of using the rDNA CN indicator as a prognostic marker characterizing human life expectancy are discussed.