Multiphoton Microscopy for Identifying Collagen Signatures Associated with Biochemical Recurrence in Prostate Cancer Patients

Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease that remains dormant for long periods or acts aggressively with poor clinical outcomes. Identifying aggressive prostate tumor behavior using current glandular-focused histopathological criteria is challenging. Recent evidence has implicated the stroma in modulating prostate tumor behavior and in predicting post-surgical outcomes. However, the emergence of stromal signatures has been limited, due in part to the lack of adoption of imaging modalities for stromal-specific profiling. Herein, label-free multiphoton microscopy (MPM), with its ability to image tissue with stromal-specific contrast, is used to identify prostate stromal features associated with aggressive tumor behavior and clinical outcome. MPM was performed on unstained prostatectomy specimens from 59 patients and on biopsy specimens from 17 patients with known post-surgery recurrence status. MPM-identified collagen content, organization, and morphological tumor signatures were extracted for each patient and screened for association with recurrent disease. Compared to tumors from patients whose disease did not recur, tumors from patients with recurrent disease exhibited higher MPM-identified collagen amount and collagen fiber intensity signal and width. Our study shows an association between MPM-identified stromal collagen features of prostate tumors and post-surgical disease recurrence, suggesting their potential for prostate cancer risk assessment.

Optimization of immunolabeling and clearing techniques for indelibly labeled memory traces

Recent genetic tools have allowed researchers to visualize and manipulate memory traces (i.e., engrams) in small brain regions. However, the ultimate goal is to visualize memory traces across the entire brain in order to better understand how memories are stored in neural networks and how multiple memories may coexist. Intact tissue clearing and imaging is a new and rapidly growing area of focus that could accomplish this task. Here, we utilized the leading protocols for whole-brain clearing and applied them to the ArcCreER^T2 mice, a murine line that allows for the indelible labeling of memory traces. We found that CLARITY and PACT greatly distorted the tissue, and iDISCO quenched enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) fluorescence and hindered immunolabeling. Alternative clearing solutions, such as tert-Butanol, circumvented these harmful effects, but still did not permit whole-brain immunolabeling. CUBIC and CUBIC with Reagent-1A produced improved antibody penetration and preserved EYFP fluorescence, but also did not allow for whole-brain memory trace visualization. Modification of CUBIC with Reagent-1A resulted in EYFP fluorescence preservation and immunolabeling of the immediate early gene (IEG) Arc in deep brain areas; however, optimized memory trace labeling still required tissue slicing into mm-thick tissue sections. In summary, our data show that CUBIC with Reagent-1A* is the ideal method for reproducible clearing and immunolabeling for the visualization of memory traces in mm-thick tissue sections from ArcCreER^T2 mice.

Optogenetic stimulation of dentate gyrus engrams restores memory in Alzheimer's disease mice

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder characterized by amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles. APPswe/PS1dE9 (APP/PS1) mice have been developed as an AD model and are characterized by plaque formation at 4-6 months of age. Here, we sought to better understand AD-related cognitive decline by characterizing various types of memory. In order to better understand how memory declines with AD, APP/PS1 mice were bred with ArcCreERT2 mice. In this line, neural ensembles activated during memory encoding can be indelibly tagged and directly compared with neural ensembles activated during memory retrieval (i.e., memory traces/engrams). We first administered a battery of tests examining depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors, as well as spatial, social, and cognitive memory to APP/PS1 × ArcCreERT2 × channelrhodopsin (ChR2)-enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) mice. Dentate gyrus (DG) neural ensembles were then optogenetically stimulated in these mice to improve memory impairment. AD mice had the most extensive differences in fear memory, as assessed by contextual fear conditioning (CFC), which was accompanied by impaired DG memory traces. Optogenetic stimulation of DG neural ensembles representing a CFC memory increased memory retrieval in the appropriate context in AD mice when compared with control (Ctrl) mice. Moreover, optogenetic stimulation facilitated reactivation of the neural ensembles that were previously activated during memory encoding. These data suggest that activating previously learned DG memory traces can rescue cognitive impairments and point to DG manipulation as a potential target to treat memory loss commonly seen in AD.

[Features of physical development of girls residing in the altai territory with the different level of the environmental load]

There was performed the determination of the characteristics of the physical development of 660 girls aged of from 6 years 6 months to 17years 5 months 29 days, residing in the Blagoveshchenskiy and the Ust-Pristanskiy regions of the Altai Krai. The Blagoveshchenskiy region is characterized by a high level of ambient air pollution (potential of the atmospheric pollution accounts for 2.7-3.0). Sodium sulfate, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbonic oxide, nitrogen dioxide, vanadium pentoxide, ammonia, manganese and its compounds, hexavalent chromium make the greatest contribution to the atmospheric pollution. The Ust-Pristanskiy region is referred to the least polluted territories of the Altai Krai. Living conditions in the Blagoveshchenskiy region of the Altai Krai were found to influence on the girls ’ physical and sexual development. The girls living in the Blagoveshchenskiy region show the pubertal growth spurt one year later, which is lasting longer. As a result, by the age of 17, measurements of the body and leg length are almost 6 cm higher in girls of the Blagoveshchenskiy region. 97% of the Blagoveshchenskiy region residents have pathological (trochanter index ≤ 1.85) and disevolutive (trochanter index = 1.86 - 1.91) types of age evolution which testifies to the thyroid and reproductive hormones deficiency. Among the residents of the Ust-Pristanskiy region, 80% have either normal values of the trochanter index (1.95 - 2.0) or slightly deviated from the norm (hypoevolutive, normoevolutive, and hyperevolutive types of age evolution). The level of the endocrine system diseases prevalence, nutrition and metabolic disorders among the teenagers of the Blagoveshchenskiy region are 2.5 times higher than in the rural area of the Altai Krai. The relative risk of the endocrine system diseases occurrence, nutrition disturbances and metabolic disorders in the teenagers of the Blagoveshchenskiy region equals to OR=1.87 (x=272.7, p<0.001).

[Electron microscopy study of bacterial adhesiveness]

The interaction of Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. intermedia, Y. frederikseni, Y. kristenseni and erythrocytes was studied with the use scanning electron microscopy. Highly adhesive and moderately adhesive Staphylococcus and Yersinia strains displayed both individual coated bacterial cells and groups of cells interconnected by common intercellular matrix on the surface of erythrocytes. In nonadhesive Staphylococcus and Yersinia strains no coating was detected on the surface of bacterial cells. Some of Staphylococcus and Yersinia cells interacting with erythrocytes were at the stage of heteromorphism with different manifestations of L-transformation (cells with cell wall defects, spheroplasts and protoplasts). Heteromorphic cells did not adhere to the surface of erythrocytes.

[Persistence of pneumotrophic infective agents in acute bronchopulmonary diseases in children]

175 children with acute bronchopulmonary pathology were examined for the presence of the pneumotropic infective agents by serological and bacteriological methods. In most children microbial associations with the prevalence of mycoplasmas, pneumocycts and, to a lesser extent, chlamydiae were detected. The considerable activation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in children with pneumonia and bronchitis was noted. Taking into account the results of the examination and the clinico-anamnestic data, the character of infections could be established: chlamydial and CMV infections were mainly persisting; pneumococcal infection was mainly acute, hemophilic and pneumocyst infections were mixed. The clinical picture of acute pneumonia cases had characteristic features determined by the supposed etiological agent, but this picture could change under the influence of pneumotropic infective agents.

[Viral hepatitis markers in saliva specimens from patients with acute hepatitis A, B and C]

Anti-HVA IgM, HBsAg, anti-HBc IgM, anti-HVC were determined in the blood sera and saliva specimens obtained from patients with acute hepatitis A, B, C (HA, HB, HC) and from healthy persons of the control group. 37 HA patients, 27 HB patients and 24 HC patients, observed in the dynamics of the disease (for a period of 1 month and longer from the appearance of manifestations of the disease), as well as 30 practically healthy persons (the control group) were examined. Anti-HVA IgM could be found in saliva specimens taken from the HA patients 100% of cases, but could not be found in saliva specimens from the persons of the control group and HB patients. The presence of HBsAg was established in 92.8% and anti-HBc IgM, in 100% of cases in saliva specimens from patients with acute HB. In no case HB markers were found in saliva samples obtained from HA patients and from the persons of the control group. In HBsAg-positive saliva specimens HB virus DNA was detected by the method of polymerase chain, reaction, which opened new aspects for the modern interpretation of the role of saliva as a factor in the natural transmission of HB. Anti-HVC could be found in all patients both in the blood serum and saliva specimens, but proved to be absent in the persons of the control group, as well as in HA and HB patients. The dynamic study of HA, HB and HC patients for the detection of anti-HVA and anti-HBc IgM, HBsAg and anti-VHC demonstrated the possibility of detecting these markers for 1 month and longer in the blood sera and in saliva specimens. The results of these investigations suggest that saliva specimens may be regarded as an alternative to blood sera in the diagnosis of HA, HB and HC in patients with acute viral hepatitis; these results also open prospects for the use of saliva specimens as an object of study in diagnostic laboratories, the deciphering of viral hepatitis outbreaks, the diagnosis of HA in persons with anicteric forms of HA.

[Hepatitis E in a nonendemic region: antibodies to hepatitis E virus in various groups of residents]

Increase in the number of seropositive subjects in the population of European and North-American regions not endemic for hepatitis E stimulated research in this field. This study was aimed at investigating the incidence of IgG antibodies to hepatitis E virus (anti-HEV-IgG) in subjects with different liver diseases and in groups at increased risk of infection in a nonendemic region. In patients with different diseases of the liver the incidence of anti-HEV-IgG varied from 5.1 to 14.3%, in medical workers and former blood donors not allowed to donate blood because of increased transaminase levels in the blood 5.1 and 5.3%, respectively. In the reference group this level was appreciably lower-only 1.8%, this being rather close to the incidence of anti-HEV-IgG in the population of a nonendemic region (2.1%). There were no seropositive women in the group of healthy pregnant women in a non-endemic region, whereas in an endemic region (in Kyrghyzstan) 15% of pregnant women were seropositive for anti-HEV.

[The development of species-specific test systems for the rapid diagnosis of staphylococcal infections]

Highly purified teichoic acids (TA) were isolated from Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis and characterized. The preparations of TA were highly species-specific. For the first time monospecific sera to S. aureus and S. epidermidis were obtained. From these monospecific sera immunoglobulins were isolated and used for the preparation of reagents for the passive hemagglutination (PHA) test and the enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The sensitivity of the PHA test and EIA was 15 micrograms/ml when S. aureus and S. epidermidis were used and 10(6)-10(7) cells/ml when whole microbial cells were used. The diagnostic preparations proved to be highly specific and did not react with other preparations isolated from S. aureus and S. epidermidis, as well as from bacteria belonging to other taxa. Experiments on rabbits, carried out with the use of newly developed test systems, demonstrated that staphylococci could be detected in the blood as early as 10 minutes after the intravenous infection of the animals and until day 12.

Serum corticosteroid-binding globulin levels in children undergoing heart surgery

Serum corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) levels were measured in children (mean age 4 years) during heart surgery. Considerable decrease in CBG level occurred between baseline examination (416 +/- 39 nM) and the day of surgery (314 +/- 30 nM). Relatively simple closed heart surgery did not influence CBG level with maximal cortisol level being 20 +/- 4 micrograms/dl. Open heart surgery under conditions of profound hypothermia (26 C, without extracorporeal circulation) caused dramatic lowering of CBG level, particularly striking after resuscitation (180 +/- 20 nM). At the same time cortisol level reached extremely high values (78 +/- 8 micrograms/dl). These data suggest that CBG is likely to play an important role in pituitary-adrenal response to surgery under severe conditions of hypothermia and cardiac arrest.

[The use of a polymerase chain reaction method for the diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumonia]

The assay system for the diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections, based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR), has been developed. The sensitivity of the detection of M. pneumoniae DNA in analysis of different clinical samples has been established. The study has shown the possibility of using the newly developed assay system for the detection of M. pneumoniae in the material obtained from patients with atypical forms of pneumonia and from Mycoplasma carriers.

[The use of the latex agglutination reaction for the diagnosis of a Brucella infection]

The authors have developed the optimum conditions for the preparation of antigenic diagnosticum based on latex manufactured in the USSR. To sensitize latex with the diameter of microspheres equal to 0.83 microns, Brucella polysaccharide was used in a dose of 100 micrograms/ml. As stabilizer, polyvinylpyrrolidone at a concentration of 0.1% was used. The specificity and sensitivity of the diagnosticum were studied in analysis of serum samples taken from 102 healthy donors and patients with infectious diseases of nonbrucellar etiology and from 120 patients with different forms of brucellosis. The specificity of the diagnosticum was found to be 94.1% and its sensitivity, 77.5%. Comparative study of the latex agglutination test with other serological tests showed that the former test is highly effective both in acute and chronic forms of the disease. A high degree of correlation between the agglutination test, Coombs' test, the passive hemagglutination test and the latex agglutination test was established (r = 0.83, 0.72 and 0.62, respectively).

[The use of an immunoenzyme method for the rapid diagnosis of legionellosis]

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) system for the detection of L. pneumophila antigen in clinical material (sputum, urine, bronchial washings) has been developed. The use of EIA permits the detection of L. pneumophila antigen in the urine of 75-80% of patients during the first week of the disease. The specificity and sensitivity of EIA makes it possible to recommend this method for the rapid diagnosis of L. pneumophila infection.

[Use of an affinity chromatography method for isolating monospecific Salmonella antibodies]

Obtaining antibodies to individual components of Salmonella antigenic complex is highly important for investigations aimed at the study of the antigenic structure of bacteria, their serological identification and the development of diagnostic preparations. The method of obtaining antibodies by the oxidation of Salmonella antigens with sodium periodate and creating immunosorbents based on these antibodies with subsequent affinity chromatography has been developed. Monospecific antibodies thus obtained (O2, O4, O9) have been studied and used as monospecific preparations in the agglutination test, the immunofluorescence test and the immunosorbent assay. The development of methods for stabilizing these preparations, thus ensuring their wide practical use, may be of interest.

[Use of the ELISA immunoenzyme method for the detection of the causative agent of tularemia]

The conditions of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of Francisella tularensis were worked out. In the study of 27 strains differing in their biological characteristics, the sensitivity of the assay was determined, varying within the range of 1 X 10(4)--5 X 10(4) million cells/ml and exceeding the sensitivity of the currently used methods for the immunodiagnosis of tularemia by 1-2 orders. ELISA also proved to be a highly effective technique for the detection of the specific antigen in the organs of infected animals. The antigen was regularly detected in the organs of white mice, beginning from day 3 after their infection with the minimal doses of F. tularensis. The method may be recommended both for the identification of isolated cultures and for the early diagnosis of tularemia infection.

[Choice of the suitability criteria of polystyrene-based solid-phase carriers for performing immunoenzyme analyses]

The authors discuss a tentative approach to the choice of criteria indicating the optimal suitability of different solid-phase carriers made of polystyrene for use in the enzyme immunoassay (EIA), viz. the dependence of specificity, sensitivity, reproducibility and reliability of EIA results on the adsorption properties, transparency expressed in percent and transparency variations of the plates under test. The evaluation of the carriers by four parameters is proposed with the use of assay plates manufactured by Nunc A/S (Denmark) for control. To ensure the objective evaluation of the suitability of polystyrene plates for use in EIA, the choice of uniform criteria is necessary.

[Development of an immunoenzyme test system for determining the antigens of feed yeasts]

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) system for the detection of fodder yeast antigens in the air of production areas at fodder protein producing plants has been developed. The method has proved to be highly sensitive and specific and shows advantages in comparison with the nonspecific method of low sensitivity, currently used at such plants. The sensitivity of solid-phase EIA techniques is 0.001 micrograms/ml (for protein) or 10(2)-10(3) cells/ml, and 10 ng/ml for soluble antigen. No cross reactions with bakers' yeast antigen have been observed.

[Detection of the antigens of the causative agent of brucellosis by an immunoenzyme method]

The conditions of the enzyme immunoassay for the detection of Brucella antigens have been selected, making it possible to detect these antigens both in solutions and in biological material within 3-4 hours. In guinea pigs infected with B. abortus 99 in a dose of 1,000 microbial cells, brucellar antigen has been detectable in the organs and blood serum of the animals as early as 24 hours after infection. This assay, if carried out under the optimal conditions, detects soluble brucellar polysaccharide antigen at a concentration of 1 ng/ml and Brucellae at a concentration of 5 X 10(4) microbial cells/ml in the presence of 200-fold surplus of other bacterial cells.

[Determination of the digoxin concentration in the blood plasma of patients with cardiopulmonary failure]

Digoxin was used for 2-4 weeks in a combined treatment of 98 patients with cardiopulmonary insufficiency. Blood plasma digoxin concentration was measured in 65 patients. A clinical improvement accompanied with positive hemodynamic changes, an improvement of myocardial contractility, a decrease of pulmonary hypertension was observed in 88% of patients. The relationship between a clinical effect and the drug dose was found. Correlation between blood digoxin concentration, stage of circulatory insufficiency and toxic manifestations was revealed.

[Immunoenzyme method in the diagnosis of human brucellosis]

The optimum conditions for the determination of specific antibodies in the sera of brucellosis patients by means of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) have been selected. The comparative study of the specificity and sensitivity of EIA and other serological tests has demonstrated that EIA has high diagnostic effectiveness in the diagnosis of acute and chronic brucellosis. The presence of direct correlation between the results of EIA and Coombs' test is observed, which is indicative of the capacity of EIA for detecting both complete and incomplete specific antibodies. It should be pointed out that in all cases the titer of specific antibodies in EIA has been found to be 5-16 times higher than in Coombs' test, the passive hemagglutination test, and agglutination test.

[Development of an immunoenzyme method for detecting Francisella tularensis]

The conditions permitting the determination of F. tularesis cells by means of the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) in 3-5 hours have been established. Ways for enhancing the reliability of results obtained in the assay of the least possible amount of the test material have been proposed. The sensitivity and specificity of the rapid EIA technique permitting the determination of F. tularensis cells at a concentration of 20 000 cells/ml in the presence of other bacterial cells in 100-fold excess have been shown.

[Development of an immunoenzyme test system for detecting antibodies to commercial strains of feed yeasts]

ELISA as a specific and highly sensitive test system was used for the examination of large groups of workers employed in the production of fodder protein to detect antibodies to the production strains of fodder yeast. The results yielded by ELISA correlated well with those obtained by the serological luminescent techniques, but antibody titers determined by means of ELISA are 10-20 times higher.

[Use of an immunoenzyme method on a solid-phase carrier for determining the tularemia antigen]

The method of the highly sensitive (up to 10 ng/ml) and specific determination of soluble tularemia antigen, based on the use of "sandwich" type ELISA techniques, has been developed. The dependence of the specificity and sensitivity of the method on the degree of purification of antibodies and their peroxidase conjugates used in the assay has been studied. The study has revealed that the best results can be obtained with the use of purified IgG and its conjugate free of unbound peroxidase. Both foreign peroxidase preparations and type A enzyme manufactured in the USSR can be equally used as enzymatic labels.

[Determination of tularemia antibodies by an immunoenzyme method on a solid-phase carrier (ELISA)]

ELISA "sandwich" techniques have been developed and the optimum assay conditions for detecting specific antibodies in human serum samples have been determined. The possibility of using these techniques for the determination of the level of antibodies to tularemia antigens in the sera of persons immunized with live tularemia vaccine has been shown. Statistically significant differences in the level of antibodies to tularemia antigen in the sera of immunized and nonimmunized persons have been established. The comparative study of five serological methods - ELISA, the agglutination test, the passive hemagglutination test, the immunofluorescence test and the defined antigen substrate sera ( DASS ) techniques - has revealed the advantage of ELISA, whose sensitivity has proved to be considerably higher than that of all other methods used in our work.

[Comparative evaluation of several methods of diagnosing hepatitis A]

Immunofluorescence (IF), indirect hemagglutination test (IHA), latex-agglutination test (LA), and immunofluorescence of activated sepharose particles (IFS) were used for early specific diagnosis of viral hepatitis A (VHA). The antisera used in the tests were those from convalescents after VHA collected at 25-30 days which had no HBs antigen or antibody to it. The IF and IHA tests were found to be most sensitive for examination of VHA patients. In VHA foci, positive IF tests were found in 22%-72% contacts (in relation to the number of manifest forms in a focus of infection) which in 84.6% cases correlated with enlarged liver. In parallel examination of contacts in one of VHA foci by IF and IHA tests similar results were obtained and the infection-rate in the group was 64.3% and 64% respectively.

[Analysis of the potential for restoring E. coli cells, aerosolized in 30% relative humidity, by systems that repair UV damage]

The mutants, defective due to a complex of damages caused by UV radiation, are considerably more sensitive to aerosol dispersal under conditions of 30% relative humidity than their parent strains. The sensitivity of bacteria to dispersal by aerosol, equally increasing in case of mutations in any of the tested reparative genes, is not linked with their incapability to repair DNA damages, but should be rather considered as a pleiotropic effect. Strains E. coli K12 are somewhat more sensitive to aerosol dispersal than E. coli B when sprayed on fiberglass under conditions of 30% relative humidity.

[Estradiol reception and induction of DNA-dependent RNA synthesis and adaptive enzymes in the mammary glands of mice]

The content of estradiol receptors in the mammary glands of virgin female mice, and the capacity of this hormone to induce RNA synthesis, hexokinase, pyruvatkinase, and glucose-6-phosphoric dehydrogenase in the glands was studied. H3-estradiol binding to the mammary glands was found to be highly specific: only estradiol, and, to a lesser degree, estron, competed with H2-estradiol for the binding sites, while progesterone and hydrocortisone failed to affect the binding of H3-estradiol. As determined by the method of exchange of the receptor-bound endogenous hormone for the labeled exogenous one, the value of H3-estradiol specific binding was 4.3+/-1.5 10(-15) M/mg protein. Under the influence of estradiol the incorporation of H3-adenine and H3-orotic acid into the RNA of the mammary glands increased by 70%, and activity of the enzymes under study was almost doubled.