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The study performed on erythroblastic island cultures and rats with experimental polycythemia showed that recormon and epokrin stimulated erythropoiesis in erythroblastic islands both in vitro and in vivo. In cell cultures, recormon activates the formation of erythroblastic islands de novo and de repeto 1.3 times better than epokrin (p < 0.05). Erythroid cells exbhibited same reaction to epokrin and recormon in vivo: the number of erythroblastic islands in the bone marrow increased 3.4 times (p < 0.05) and the number of reticulocytes in the blood increased 2.2 times (p < 0.05).

Introduction of mutations in an insulin molecule is one of the important approaches to drug development for treatment of diabetes mellitus. Generally, usage of mutations is aimed at activation of insulin and insulin receptor interaction. Such mutations can be considered as positive. Mutations that reduce the binding efficacy are negative. There are neutral mutations as well. This article considers both natural mutations that are typical for various members of the insulin superfamily and artificial ones which are introduced to improve the insulin pharmacological characteristics. Data presented here can be useful in developing new effective insulin analogues for treatment of diabetes mellitus.

N epsilon-Nitroso-N epsilon- [N'-(2-chloroethyl)carbamoyl]-L-lysine (I) and N epsilon- [N'-(2-chloroethyl)-N'-nitrosocarbamoyl]-L-lysine (II), the isomers being the constituents of antitumor agent Lysomustine, were obtained by RFHPLC. The study of cytotoxicity of the above compounds against K562 cells showed that the lesions induced by isomer (II) produce a significant cytotoxic effect but can be efficiently repaired by the action of MGMT (O6-methylaguanine DNA methyltransferase). Under similar conditions, the lesions induced by isomer (I) produce substantially smaller effect but are weakly if at all repairable by MGMT. The effects of a clinically approved agent Lysomustine, which is the mixture of isomers (I) and (II), are similar to those of isomer (II). The results obtained point to a different chemical nature of DNA lesions induced by two Lysomustine isomers. Our data indicate that Lysomustine and its isomer (II) can be used for in vitro selection of cells expressing MGMT.

Lectins from cell walls of wheat seedlings in normal conditions and infected by Fusarium sp. and treated by salicylic acid were isolated by the methods of gel-filtration, affinity chromatography and isoelectric focusing, their biochemical properties were studied. It is shown that isolated preparations of lectins suppressed the development of colonies of fungus Fusarium graminearum. A conclusion was made on the possibility of employment of isolated lectins in the molecular-breeding programs on raising wheat resistance towards fusariosis.