Volume 520, Nº 1 (2025)

Most nudibranchs feed on hydroid polyps and anemones, using stolen stinging capsules of eaten victims, kleptocnids, for protection. The nudibranch Coryphella trophina (Bergh, 1890) was found to eat other nudibranchs. This predator uses for protection stinging capsules which were stolen twice: once they were stolen by mollusks that fed on cnidarians, and the second time they were stolen by C. trophina itself that ate these mollusks.

The quantitative assessment of the expression of 11 genes of the Hox cluster of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius (SiHox1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9/10, 11/ 13a, 11/13b, 11/13c) in the larvae at early developmental stages (blastula – 13 hours post fertilization (h.p.f.), gastrula – 35 h.p.f., prism stage – 46 h.p.f., echinoplutei – 4 and 9 days p.f.) was carried out. At the blastula stage, the expression of the SiHox-7, 11/13b, and 11/13c is observed; as for the latter the early activation was noted for the first time for regular sea urchins. At the gastrula and prism stages, a very low level of expression is observed. At the pluteus stage, there is significant increase of the expression of all Hox cluster genes. Breakages of temporal colinearity during the expression of Hox genes in echinoderms are discussed.

The efficacy of poloxamer 188 on medullary hematopoiesis in aplastic anemia was investigated. The present study demonstrated that poloxamer 188 at doses of 10 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg administered via oral gavage in CBA mice, in the context of the development of anemia, a dose-dependent effect was observed, characterized by an increase in erythrocyte, hemoglobin and reticulocyte numbers. In the group with carboplatin, these parameters were decreased on day 21, indicating mild anemia. It has been established that P188 has the capacity to exert a beneficial influence on the blood cell composition, which is disrupted by cytostatic drugs.

The presence of pedicellate (subpedicellate) teeth with two calcification centers and a weakly mineralized dividing zone is described for archaic stem salamanders (Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous representatives of Karauridae). The presence of subpedicellate teeth, typical of the late larval stage of modern salamanders, confirms the neotenic nature of stem salamanders. The presence of pedicellate teeth in stem salamanders and stem caecilians confirms the hypothesis of pedicellarity as a synapomorphy of modern amphibian groups and, accordingly, the monophyly of Lissamphibia.

Aquaculture is one of the main suppliers of fishery products and maintain its sustainable growth in the world, exceeding industrial fishing. At the same time, the problem of integrated processing of aquaculture by-products is on the environmental and production agenda. Fish processing by-products, which remains after obtaining the target product (fillet, offal, etc.), can be a “supplier” of valuable biological components. In particular, fish express antimicrobial peptides that exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. In this study, we performed the first exploratory analysis of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss brain proteins to identify theoretical antimicrobial patterns. More than half of the identified proteins were predicted to have antimicrobial regions. These proteins included histones, vitellogenin, collagen and others. The obtained results may prove to be of interest in the context of drug development based on peptides against various pathogens, which is a relevant direction against the backdrop of increasing antibiotic resistance of pathogenic microorganisms.

The MLE helicase of D. melanogaster, like its ortholog DHX9 in mammals, is involved in a wide range of processes related to the regulation of gene expression. In the present study, we investigated the impact of the mle[9] mutation on its own mRNA expression level. It was shown that in addition to the previously described deletion in the catalytic domain of the protein, which impairs its helicase activity, the mle[9] mutation contains an additional small deletion in the C-terminal domain. In the mle[9] mutation background, there was a threefold increase in the expression of the main transcript of the mle gene encoding the full-length protein. Binding of MLE to chromatin at the coding region and promoters of the mle gene and nearby enhancers was analyzed. To exclude the influence of dosage compensation, experiments were performed on females. The data obtained indicate the role of MLE in specific regulation of its own mRNA expression level in vivo at the adult stage.

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of programmed cell death (PCD) associated with lipid membrane peroxidation. It has gained attention in cancer research because some tumor cells that are resistant to other forms of PCD are sensitive to ferroptosis. Despite the significant amount of research on ferroptosis, the list of known inducers remains limited, creating opportunities to discover new compounds with clinical potential. Recent studies have shown that long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), can act as ferroptosis inducers. This study examined the kinetics of ferroptosis in prostate and colorectal cancer cells under the influence of erastin and DHA. Differences in the kinetics and mechanisms of action were observed. Moreover, cells resistant to erastin were found to be sensitive to DHA, confirming the potential of further research into its use as an anti-cancer agent.

One of the most obvious manifestations of the negative impact of space flight factors on the human physiology is osteopenia. With the active development of manned space flights and the increase in the duration of humans’ persistence in zero gravity, there is a growing need to understand the mechanisms of changes occurring at the cellular level involved in the replenishment of bone tissue. Using the RNA sequencing method, changes in the transcriptome profile of MMSCs were studied after a 5-day simulation of the microgravity effects. During the analysis, a pronounced downregulation of genes, which products are involved in processes associated with cell proliferation, in particular, in the mitotic phase of the cell cycle, was found in the experimental group of cells. These shifts in the transcriptional profile of MMSCs were confirmed using fluorescence microscopy. The results obtained indicate a decrease in the proliferative activity of MMSCs cultured under conditions of simulated microgravity for 5 days.

In this work, two new compounds, N6-(4,5-dimethoxyphenyl)adenine and N6-(3,5-di-trifluoromethylphenyl)adenine, with a broad spectrum of antiviral activity against RNA viruses, were identified. We showed that these compounds exhibit pronounced antiviral activity against human poliovirus types 1, 2 and 3, belonging to enterovirus C species. Both compounds also demonstrated pronounced antiviral activity against Coxsackie viruses B3, B5 and B6, belonging to enterovirus B species. In addition, the compounds demonstrated antiviral activity against Newcastle disease virus, which belongs to the paramyxovirus genus. The compounds discovered in this work can subsequently serve as prototypes for the development of new antiviral drugs against epidemiologically significant human RNA viruses.

The expression profile of key genes of ascorbate biosynthesis (VTC2, GPP, GalDH, GalLDH) and recycling (MDHAR1, MDHAR4, MDHAR5) was determined in response to infection with the fungal pathogen Fusarium proliferatum in garlic cultivars related (Podnebesny) and sensitive (Dubkovsky) to Fusarium rot. It was found that differences in resistance to Fusarium lead to discrepancies in the dynamics and expression of individual genes of the ascorbate pathway, as well as in ascorbate content. It was shown that in response to infection, the expression level of the MDHAR4 gene increases in the resistant cultivar and decreases in the Fusarium-sensitive accession. As infection progresses, the expression levels of the VTC2 and GalLDH genes increase significantly (higher in the cv. Dubkovsky than in the cv. Podnebesny). In both cultivars, the ascorbate content increases (1.5 times higher in the cv. Dubkovsky than in the cv. Podnebesny).

Splicing, a key step in mRNA maturation, plays a crucial role in the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. The formation of chimeric mRNAs from two transcripts during splicing is typically a prohibited process; however, in insects, trans-splicing is a primary mechanism for increasing protein diversity for several loci. The aim of this study is to investigate the evolutionary conservativeness of sequences responsible for trans-splicing in the mod(mdg4) locus among species from the Drosophilidae family (order Diptera) and the silkworm (Bombyx mori), which belongs to the order Lepidoptera. Using model transgenic lines, it was shown that sequences from distant Drosophila species retain the ability to support trans-splicing in D. melanogaster. In contrast, analogous sequences in the silkworm do not support trans-splicing. Thus, the RNA motifs and their binding hypothetical protein factors, defining trans-splicing, remain conserved among the Drosophilidae group, but have functionally diverged between Diptera and Lepidoptera.

The MPC1 gene is involved in the transport of pyruvate into mitochondria, playing an important role in metabolic processes. Recently, it has been reported that higher MPC1 expression correlates with an increased number of immune cells in human cervical and lung cancers, indicating an enhanced antitumor immune response. Reduced MPC1 levels in gastric tumors are associated with a more severe disease course. Correlational analysis of the MPC1 gene in human lung, hippocampus and frontal cortex tissue samples based on data from the GTEx database revealed associations of this gene with schizophrenia, non-small cell lung cancer, and immune diseases. Our experiments showed that the mRNA level of the MPC1 gene in the non-small cell lung cancer cell line A549 increases 5-fold under the influence of the schizophrenia neuroleptic thioridazine. The observed elevation of MPC1 level may cause tumor infiltration by immune cells, complementing the previously reported data indicating the ability of thioridazine to slow cell growth, induce apoptosis and reduce the ability of cells to migrate.

Spinny mice (Acomys cahirinus) exhibit the ability to regenerate damaged myocardium and functional indices of the heart demonstrated in various models of cardiac pathologies. Cardioregenerative abilities of Acomys are associated with partial preservation of the neonatal phenotype of cardiac tissue in adult animals. An electrophysiology of the untypical Acomys myocardium is extremely poorly elucidated. In the presented study, the bioelectric properties; as well as the mechanisms of parasympathetic control of the pacemaker of the heart of spiny mice was investigated using ECG in vivo recording, registration of action potential and mapping of activation pattern of the supraventricular myocardium. It was found that pacemaker-type action potentials are detected in a significant part of the right atrium while primary activation occurs approximately in 41% or the atrium surface in Acomys. Cholinergic stimulation causes pronounced suppression of automaticity and induces changes in the pattern of activation of the pacemaker myocardium of spiny mice. Cholinergic inhibition of automaticity in Acomys is mediated by IKAch-independent mechanisms. Thus, the cardioregenerative potential of spiny mice manifests in delocalization and non-classical regulation of the cardiac pacemaker.

The Bap170 subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeler exhibits activator functions when artificially recruited to the LacZ reporter promoter in enhancer-dependent transcription. In this study, the functional significance of Bap170 protein domains in reporter activation was analyzed. Deletion of the ARID domain does not reduce Bap170 activity. Increased expression of the LacZ reporter was observed in the form of Bap170 without a region that includes LXXLL motifs. Deletions of the central (RFX domain and IDRs) and C-terminal region (zinc fingers) lead to a significant decrease in transgene expression. Apparently, these regions of Bap170 are critical for the function of this protein in activated transcription.