Volume 50, Nº 3 (2016)

Genetic diversity of 13 species of the genus Vincetoxicum Wolf found in Ukraine with the use of four of eight nuclear microsatellite markers previously developed for Vincetoxicum atratum from Japan was studied. The number of alleles in studied loci varied in the range from 8 to 25. The expected heterozygosity was 0.690–0.938; the observed heterozygosity varied in the range from 0.205 to 0.806. The total rate of genetic variability of studied species was found to be comparable to the rate of variability of Vincetoxicum atratum from Japan. Microsatellite loci Vinc5, Vinc104, Vinc123, and Vinc124 can be successfully used for estimating the intra- and interspecific polymorphism of the species of genus Vincetoxicum Wolf in Ukraine.

Formation of different types of artifacts during amplification has been studied using different classes of molecular-genetic markers (Indel and SSR). It has been shown that DNA heteroduplexes are formed during amplification of heterozygous samples as fragments of both target genes and microsatellite loci. Electrophoresis of the amplification products of homozygous samples by microsatellite loci in native polyacrylamide gel has revealed specific additional fragments that do not belong to the class of heteroduplex DNA. It has been supposed that the additional fragments belong to a special type of homoduplex DNA—nonlinear homoduplexes. The analysis has revealed that the formation of nonlinear homoduplex DNA takes place on the 20–25 cycle of the PCR at the amplification of both experimental samples and individual DNA fragments cut from the gel.

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) hold the first place among all infections throughout the world. ARIs are frequently complicated by the development of acute obstructive bronchitis (AOB). According to different authors, the frequency of developing AOB due to ARIs in children ranges from 5 to 40%. The growing occurrences of ARIs in children and the formation of bronchoobstructive syndrome that frequently ends up in the development of bronchial asthma, leading children to invalidity, specify a new priority research area—molecular genetic markers sought for to identify an increased predisposition to certain socially important illnesses. The molecular-genetic testing of the polymorphic C-590T locus of the IL4 gene as the marker of increased predisposition to the development of recurrent episodes of AOB were conducted in 31 children with frequent ARIs and recurrent episodes of AOB and in 50 general-population control subjects. The level of IgE in the blood serum was studied in 31 children with frequent recurrent episodes of AOB and compared with the data of 35 control children with acute bronchitis. The comparative molecular genetic analysis of the results in children with recurrent episodes of AOB and the data obtained from the subjects of a general population control group has shown that the frequency of the CT genotype at the polymorphic C-590T locus of the IL4 gene was noticeably higher in children with recurrent AOB episodes. The markedly higher frequency of the CC genotype at the polymorphic C-590T locus of the IL4 gene was recorded in the control group subjects and compared to the data of children from the main group. It was established that carrying the 590 CT genotype with the allelic polymorphism of the IL4 gene increases the risk of recurrent episodes of AOB in children by three times. The level of IgE in the blood serum in the majority of sick children from the main group was four times higher than in the control children.

In the article, the data on the distribution of CYP21A2 gene mutations (gene deletion/conversion, c.290-13C>A/G, E110Vfs, I172N, cluster of mutations I236N, V237E, M239K, V281L, Q318X, and R356W) among Ukrainian patients with CAH (congenital adrenal hyperplasia) of different clinical phenotypes are presented. The most common mutation in the studied group (n = 27) is the CYP21A2 gene deletion/conversion. Possible patterns of the studied mutations distribution in different populations of the world and the patients’ genotype–phenotype association are discussed.

Expression of Tlr2, Defa, and Muc2 genes in epithelial cells of rat duodenum during prolonged stomach hypoacidity (hypochlorhydria) and after hypoacidity correction by multiprobiotics has been investigated. Elevation of Tlr2, Muc2, and Defa gene expression levels upon the intensification of lipid peroxidation processes in the epithelial cells of the villi and crypts of the rat duodenum under hypoacidic conditions has been demonstrated. Administration of a multiprobiotic under the same conditions downregulated the expression of the aforementioned genes in epithelial cells of the villi and crypts, bringing it to a nearly normal level, and exerted a similar effect on the levels of lipid peroxidation products. The data obtained may be indicative of the involvement of Tlr2, Muc2, and Defa genes in the development of duodenal inflammation induced by dysbiotic changes occurring in prolonged hypochlorhydria.