Elena Petersen, Darya Chudakova, D. Erdyneeva, Dulamsuren Zorigt, E. Shabalina, Pavel Karalkin, Igor Reshetov
{"title":"Cancer as a potential sequela of COVID-19 — should we modify 3D cell culture models accordingly?","authors":"Elena Petersen, Darya Chudakova, D. Erdyneeva, Dulamsuren Zorigt, E. Shabalina, Pavel Karalkin, Igor Reshetov","doi":"10.21638/spbu03.2023.307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2023.307","url":null,"abstract":"COVID-19 pandemic was caused by SARS-CoV-2, a novel virus from the family Coronaviridae, firstly identified in Wuhan, China in 2019. COVID-19 remains one of the main challenges of healthcare, given growing numbers of people with COVID-19 in anamnesis, and given the long-lasting consequences and complications of this disease. Cancer is one of the most common diseases in the world, thus a big part of the population is affected by both COVID-19 and cancer. In this succinct review we refer to several recent works expressing a view that COVID-19 might be oncogenic, and describe molecular mechanisms of such phenomena. Next, we describe several tumorigenic changes in the tissue microenvironment as COVID-19 sequelae, which can potentially affect cancer pathogenesis and response of a tumor to therapy. 3D cell culture models are a “golden standard” of in vitro studies in translational oncology. To the best of our knowledge, 3D cell culture systems to study tumor behavior in the tissue microenvironment affected by COVID-19 have not been developed yet. We propose several actionable steps which can be taken to modify existing 3D cell culture models accordingly, to address the needs of translational oncology in the COVID-19 post-pandemic times.","PeriodicalId":8998,"journal":{"name":"Biological Communications","volume":"95 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139196759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natalia Fedorova, Alexey Sokolov, A. Trashkov, Elena Varfolomeeva
{"title":"The preparation of samples for studying neutrophils without their isolation","authors":"Natalia Fedorova, Alexey Sokolov, A. Trashkov, Elena Varfolomeeva","doi":"10.21638/spbu03.2023.302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2023.302","url":null,"abstract":"Neutrophils are the primary cells of the innate immune system. They destroy pathogenic microorganisms carrying out the oxidative stress mechanism through phagocytosis and extracellular traps (NETs). There is no doubt about the need to study neutrophils’ functional activity, but there are some methodological problems with the nativity of conditions in such experiments. The aim of this work is to propose a method of preparing a sample of peripheral blood neutrophils for study by spectral-optical methods (such as confocal microscopy) providing an increased level of the nativity of the conditions.","PeriodicalId":8998,"journal":{"name":"Biological Communications","volume":" 18","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139197275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nicolás Olegario Blanco, Valeria Gili, J. Laiuppa, Graciela Edith Santillán
{"title":"Ethanolic extract of Aloe arborescens stimulates neonatal rat calvarial cells proliferation, migration and osteogenic differentiation","authors":"Nicolás Olegario Blanco, Valeria Gili, J. Laiuppa, Graciela Edith Santillán","doi":"10.21638/spbu03.2023.303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2023.303","url":null,"abstract":"The medicinal plant Aloe arborescens Miller has chemical compounds that could stimulate the activity of bone-forming cells, but no studies have been found in this regard. We evaluated the effects of different dilutions of aqueous (1/10; 1/100; 1/1000) or ethanolic (1/1000; 1/2000; 1/5000) extracts of parenchyma from A. arborescens on the viability, proliferation, migration and osteogenic differentiation of primary cell cultures from neonatal rat calvaria. In none of the conditions studied did cell viability decrease (p ≤ 0.01). Furthermore, the 1/5000 ethanolic extract dilution showed a positive effect on cell viability at 48 h and 72 h and the latter was correlated with a 27 % (p ≤ 0.01) increase in cell proliferation. Ethanolic extract significantly stimulated cell migration and cultured mineralization with respect to control, showing the maximal effect at a dilution 1/5000. Together, the results show that the A. arborescens extracts do not have toxic effects. In addition, ethanolic extract stimulates proliferation, migration and osteogenic differentiation of rat calvarial cells, suggesting a potential bone anabolic action.","PeriodicalId":8998,"journal":{"name":"Biological Communications","volume":"169 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139201336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elena Andreeva, M. Burlakovskiy, Irina Buzovkina, Elena Chekunova, Irina E. Dodueva, Elena Golubkova, A. Matveenko, Andrew Rumyantsev, Natalia Tsvetkova, S. Zadorsky, Anton Nizhnikov
{"title":"Genetic Collections of St. Petersburg University","authors":"Elena Andreeva, M. Burlakovskiy, Irina Buzovkina, Elena Chekunova, Irina E. Dodueva, Elena Golubkova, A. Matveenko, Andrew Rumyantsev, Natalia Tsvetkova, S. Zadorsky, Anton Nizhnikov","doi":"10.21638/spbu03.2023.308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2023.308","url":null,"abstract":"Bioresource collections represent a unique source of biological diversity for research in genetics and related disciplines. The Department of Genetics and Biotechnology of St. Petersburg State University is the oldest department of genetics in Russia, founded in 1919. Throughout the entire period of development, the geneticists of St. Petersburg University have collected unique forms of plants, animals and microorganisms, on which their research was based. Many of these studies including regulation of translation termination in yeast, amyloids and prions of different organisms, genetic mapping of valuable morphological and biochemical traits to create first rye chromosome maps, and several aspects of transcription regulation in plants, had a significant novelty. The most active accumulation of collections of genetic resources at St. Petersburg State University started in the 1950-1970s when important scientific directions in the genetics of microorganisms, plants and animals, many of which continue today, were established at the department. Genetic collections are actively used in educational work for teaching dozens of educational courses. Currently, the interdisciplinary genetic collections of St. Petersburg State University consist of seven sections including genetic collections of rye, radish, garden pea, Chlamydomonas algae, Saccharomyces yeast and plasmids, Komagataella yeast, Drosophila fly. This review describes in detail the collections of the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology of St. Petersburg State University and discusses their current state, application and development prospects.","PeriodicalId":8998,"journal":{"name":"Biological Communications","volume":"875 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139204618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Litvinovich, A. Lavrishchev, Vladimir M. Bure, Vladimir Miladinović, E. Saljnikov
{"title":"Changes in Mn availability and soil acidity in Albic Retisol limed with dolomite screenings of various sizes and doses: a long-term microfield experiment in the north-western Russia","authors":"A. Litvinovich, A. Lavrishchev, Vladimir M. Bure, Vladimir Miladinović, E. Saljnikov","doi":"10.21638/spbu03.2023.301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2023.301","url":null,"abstract":"Liming of acidic soils is associated with various processes in the soil, including the availability of nutrients for plants. The vector and extent of these changes depend, inter alia, on the type of lime material and the doses used. Particularly, excessive liming can trigger a deficiency of manganese for crops. A long-term microfield experiment (13 test years) was carried out on Albic Retisols reclaimed with the dolomite particles of various sizes as a by-product of stone processing quarries. Ten treatments including various sized dolomite particles and their combinations, as well as traditional limestone flour on the background of NPK fertilizer were studied for the changes in soil acidity indicators (exchangeable acidity, pH; hydrolytic acidity, Hy; total acidity, Htot) and manganese availability. The amount of acidic components passing into the extract of 1N KCl was insufficient to reveal a dependency between the exchangeable acidity and the content of mobile manganese in the soil of most treatments limed with dolomite particles of various sizes. However, the relationship between the content of mobile Mn in soils and the value of hydrolytic acidity was proved by paired linear regressions. Regardless of the dose and size of dolomite particles added, the soil was highly and moderately supplied with plant available manganese during the entire study period.","PeriodicalId":8998,"journal":{"name":"Biological Communications","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139205121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mariia Dorofeikova, Irina Antonova, G. Gromova, Anastasia Veraksa, Elena Filatova, Alexei Egorov
{"title":"Sex-dependent effects of chronic intermittent ethanol treatment in Wistar rats","authors":"Mariia Dorofeikova, Irina Antonova, G. Gromova, Anastasia Veraksa, Elena Filatova, Alexei Egorov","doi":"10.21638/spbu03.2023.304","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2023.304","url":null,"abstract":"Multiple behavioral parameters are associated with vulnerability to alcohol dependence, but the contribution of such factors as cognitive flexibility and sex differences still require further clarification. Our goal was to assess how sex differences mediate relationships between cognitive flexibility, affective state, hierarchy and ethanol preference before and after chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure in Wistar rats. The results of our study revealed sex-dependent changes in ethanol preference and locomotor activity throughout the time. Anxiety levels were sex-dependently affected by ethanol exposure with a dramatic decrease in ethanol-exposed females. Similarly, striatal tyrosine hydroxylase expression was affected by CIE in a sex-dependent manner, with ethanol-exposed females having higher expression than males. Baseline cognitive flexibility was better in rats with higher locomotor activity and lower anxiety levels but did not correlate with ethanol preference in rats. Taken together, these results are important for understanding sex-dependent alterations in brain and behavior induced by alcohol. This provides important insights into understanding sex differences in the risk for mental disorders.","PeriodicalId":8998,"journal":{"name":"Biological Communications","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139201958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elvira A Bondareva, Olga Parfenteva, Aleksandra Vasileva, Nikolay Kulemin, A. Gadzhiakhmedova, Olga Kovaleva, N. Khromov-Borisov
{"title":"Agreement of bioimpedance analysis and ultrasound scanning for fat mass, fat free mass and body fat percentage evaluation in the group of adult women","authors":"Elvira A Bondareva, Olga Parfenteva, Aleksandra Vasileva, Nikolay Kulemin, A. Gadzhiakhmedova, Olga Kovaleva, N. Khromov-Borisov","doi":"10.21638/spbu03.2023.305","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2023.305","url":null,"abstract":"The study aims to perform an agreement analysis of bioimpedance (BIA) results obtained using АВС-02 “Medas” (Russia) and ultrasound scanning (US) using BodyMetrixTM (USA) for fat mass, fat free mass and body fat percentage in the group of females from Moscow. The study was performed with 180 female subjects 18-67 years of age. The agreement analysis conducted in the whole sample revealed a low level of agreement in estimating body fat percentage (CCC = 0.70 0.76 0.81) and fat free mass (CCC = 0.86 0.89 0.91), but agreement can be described as medium in estimating fat mass (CCC = 0.90 0.92 0.94). Then we adjusted the prediction equations and the agreement analysis was conducted again. Adjusted prediction equations improved the level of agreement to medium when estimating body fat percentage and fat free mass. Thus, the proposed equations can be used for the translation of body composition results obtained by US into the BIA data.","PeriodicalId":8998,"journal":{"name":"Biological Communications","volume":"94 25","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139196518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Natural habitats for the stable existence of wild boars (Sus scrofa) in the North","authors":"Igor Popov, Dmitry Starikov","doi":"10.21638/spbu03.2023.306","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2023.306","url":null,"abstract":"Wild boar Sus scrofa populations are actively expanding northwards. Their presence in the North is closely tied to anthropogenic activities, as wild boars are either fed, or find food and suitable habitat at farmlands. However, the nature reserves of the northern part of Russia show that wild boars are able to survive on their own even in a completely natural environment. In the taiga zone, there are habitats providing for their survival in winter: wetlands in mires and around large water bodies, and dense spruce forests. Continued northwards expansion of wild boar range is likely if pressure from hunting is reduced. Modelling based on climatic variables also shows that they could potentially inhabit vast areas in the North. The existence of wild boars in the North is interrelated with other species of relatively large mammals (beavers and roe deer) and partly supports the idea of “Pleistocene rewilding” in a boreal environment, i.e., the potential to increase the variety and numbers of megafauna representatives.","PeriodicalId":8998,"journal":{"name":"Biological Communications","volume":"10 35","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139196669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Risk screening of non-native suckermouth armoured catfishes Pterygoplichthys spp. in the River Dinh (Vietnam) using two related decision-support tools","authors":"Dmitry D. Zworykin, Thị Hải Yến Đinh","doi":"10.21638/spbu03.2023.206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2023.206","url":null,"abstract":"The invasion risk of non-native suckermouth catfishes Pterygoplichthys spp. in the River Dinh (Vietnam) was evaluated using two related decision-support tools, namely the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK) and the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK). The results of screenings obtained independently by three assessors using both toolkits were evaluated for consistency, and compared with a screening study previously obtained for Vietnam as a wide risk assessment area. Both FISK and AS-ISK based screenings were shown to provide adequate and potentially important outcomes in terms of risk of invasiveness and were consistent amongst assessors and between toolkits. The invasion risk of Pterygoplichthys in the River Ding was found to be high and the traits of these fishes that influence their success of becoming established were considered. Some aspects in the use of FISK and AS-ISK as decision-support tools as part of the overall risk analysis of species’ invasions for large risk assessment areas are discussed.","PeriodicalId":8998,"journal":{"name":"Biological Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43844315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Structural organization of epidermis in leaves of extant species of Gnetum L. (Gnetales) and Middle Jurassic Bennettitales","authors":"I. Bogdanova, L. Kartseva","doi":"10.21638/spbu03.2023.205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2023.205","url":null,"abstract":"An attempt to assess the identification and evaluation of correlations between the epidermal characters of leaves in Bennettitales and the comparison of the results with the structural organization of leaves of extant plants has been carried out. Epidermis of four species of Gnetum L. and four species of Jurassic Bennettitales (Nilssoniopteris Nathorst and Ptilophyllum Morris) was studied. The coefficients of variation for epidermal characters Gnetum range from 6.4 to 24.0 %, Ptilophyllum — 15.7–63.5 % and Nilssoniopteris — 18.0–39.9 %. In both groups of plants, the sinuosity of the tangential cell walls of the epidermal cells in the upper and lower epidermis is a stable character (Cv ≤ 18.0 %). In the Ptilophyllum and Gnetum, the length of stomata demonstrates a low level of variability (Cv ≤ 16.8 %). A significant range of the coefficients of variation in both Gnetum and Bennettitales show the number of epidermal cells per 1 mm2 of the upper and lower epidermis (17.5 % ≤ Сv ≤ 31.9 %), the area of the epidermal cells in the upper and lower epidermis (21.2 % ≤ Сv ≤ 63.5 %) and the number of stomata per 1 mm2 of epidermis (29.3 % ≤ Сv ≤ 39.9 %). Similarities in the correlation structure of the epidermal characters are revealed in correlations between sinuosity of the tangential cell walls of the epidermis, the number of stomata per 1 mm2 and their size; the length of stomata and the number of epidermal cells; stomatal index and the number of epidermal cells of the epidermis. In Gnetum, the number of differentiated stomata correlates with the number of aborted stomata. In N. angustifolia and P. caucasicum, the number of stomata correlates with the number of papillae per 1 mm2. Similarities in correlational structure of epidermis in Nilssoniopteris, Ptilophyllum, and Gnetum could be ecological adaptations or ontogenetic characters, such as the development of stomata that has been described by other researchers.","PeriodicalId":8998,"journal":{"name":"Biological Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46024859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}