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The authors studied the effect of a single subcutaneous injection of 0.3 ml of complete Freund's adjuvant on catecholamine content in the adrenal glands and the brain of Wistar rats. There proved to be a sharp reduction of adrenaline and noradrenaline content per gm of adrenal gland raw tissue, and per one adrenal gland at periods of from 1 to 5 weeks after the adjuvant administration, and also a loss of the adrenal gland weight. A less pronounced, but significant increase in the noradrenaline and DOPA concentration was revealed in the brain tissue during the first week after the adjuvant administration, and, of dopamine at all the periods of study. It is suggested that both the peripheral and central links of the sympathoadrenal system were activated by the nonspecific stimulant.

Stimulation of fibrinolysis, decrease in content of fibrinogen and inhibitors were observed after intravenous, intramuscular or subcutaneous administrations of thymoptine preparation (complex of peptides, isolated from mammalian thymus) at doses of 0.1 microgram, 1.0 microgram/200 g of rat body mass. A more long-term effect was found after a course of treatment involving 5 subcutaneous or intramuscular injections (1.0 microgram). Single intravenous administration of thymoptine (0.1 microgram/200 g) caused a moderate thrombolytic action. Development of thrombosis, provoked by subtotal dose of thrombin, was inhibited after subcutaneous injection of the preparation.

Creatine action on the activity of creatine kinase (ATP: creatine-phosphotransferase; EC 2.7.3.2) and the content of water-soluble proteins in the developing monolayer culture of chick myoblasts are studied. Creatine at concentrations of 1.9-10- minus 3-3.8-10- minus 3 M is shown to increase reliably the creatine kinase activity by 1,1--2,9 times and to reduct considerably the content of water-soluble proteins. Lower concentrations of creatine (3.8-10- minus 5 M) also increased the creatine kinase activity but did not change the contents of water-soluble proteins. The creatine effect was maximal at the period preceding the termination of tissue cells differentiation. In the course of the combined effect of both actinomycin D (50 mcg/plate) and creatine (3.8-10- minus 3 M) the creatine kinase activity was much higher than that in the presence of actinomycin D alone which considerably reduced the enzyme activity as well as the contents of water-soluble proteins.

A hypothesis postulating the regulatory peptides continuum is presented. At certain combinations, the numerous regulatory peptides (RP) make up a continuous set of bioactivity spectra, i.e., functionally continuous integrity (continuum) which provides a way for any complex influences on organism functions. Nevertheless, each RP retains its qualitative differences as compared to other RPs. Data on reciprocal influences of RP on their release into body fluids are generalized. The experimental results testify to complex chain reactions of the whole RP continuum in response to changes in any single peptide concentration.

Long-term physiological effects of the short-lived regulatory peptides (RPs) are explained from the standpoint of the model of "regulatory cascade" consisting of stepwise induction of other RPs release (or inhibition of the release). The computerised analysis of possible physiological effects of such processes initiated by thyroliberin is compared with the long-term effects observed in experiments.

Thyrotropin-releasing-hormone (TRH) in concentration from I g/ml to 1.10(-10) micrograms/ml and tuftsin (T) (10 micrograms/ml to 1.10(-6) micrograms/ml) biomicroscopy were used in rats to show the ability to activate the contraction of lymphatic microvascular walls. TRH in used concentrations stimulated spontaneously contractility of lymphatic vessel's walls or evoked its contractility when it was absent. T stopped the contraction of lymphatic microvascular walls and caused the reaction of vasodilatation.

Thymoptin was shown to possess the ability of lysis of the nonstabilized fibrin in vitro and of increasing the nonenzymatic fibrinolytic activity of blood plasma after eight daily intramuscular injections to rats in doses of 1 and 100 micrograms/kg body weight and during incubation with purified fibrin monomer to produce its depolymerization. Thymalin possessed no nonenzymatic fibrinolytic activity in vitro and in contrast to thymoptin at a relatively high concentration (1000 and 100 micrograms/ml) enhanced fibrin-monomer polymerization.

The extracellular ATP, Ca2+, Mg2+, ATP-Ca2+ and ATP + Mg2+ affect the optical density (at 520 nm) and turbidity spectra in suspensions of light and heavy synaptosomes and in mitochondria prepared from rat cerebral cortex. The properties of the light synaptosomes are associated only with their volume changes; the heavy synaptosomes and mitochondria also change their refractive indices. These results could be interpreted by structural (conformational) rearrangements occurring in membranes under such conditions. A support for this assumption was found in the studies on the spin-labeled synaptosomes.

The regular injection of hormone results in a decrease of phosphate groups content in total and non-histone proteins of rat liver chromatin. The quanitity of organic phosphate in total liver histone was increased by 17 per cent. This result is due to the increase of the alkaline-labile phosphate content in lysine-rich histones (approximately by 25 per cent) and unsignificant decrease in arginine-rich histones (approximately by 5 per cent). The intensity of the 32P incorporation was increased under the effect of somatotropin in all fraction of basic proteins; this increase being especially for lisine-rich histone subfractions. The quantity of histone f1 subfractions was also increased. A possible importance of changes in the degree of chromatin protein phsophorylation for realization of growth hormone function on the transcription level is considered.

Administration of delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) in vivo in a dose of 30 microgram/kg bw brings about MAO-A (substrate-serotonin) activation in synaptosome subfractions and cellular mitochondria from the brain structures (motor cortex, nucleus caudatus, thalamus). Activity of MAO-B (substrate-p-nitrophenylethylamine) and acetylcholinesterase was inhibited negligibly and specifically in subcellular fractions of the test brain structures. The results suggest that DSIP effects the regulatory or modulation function in the synapse. As one of the elements of sleep mechanisms this peptide induces a number of processes, particularly in serotonin metabolism.

The effect of immunisation by covalent conjugates of known psychostimulant and antidepressant sydnophen with bovine serum albumin (BSA) on behaviour, formation of conditioned reflex reactions and alcoholization of white rats has been studied. The immunization of sydnophen with BSA by conjugates permits to obtain a long-term alteration of the emotional status: suppression of behavioral activity, learning and alcohol attraction of rats similar in some elements to the action of neuroleptic drugs. The direction of these alterations is opposite to ones caused by the action of sydnophen. It gives possibility to consider fruitful the conception on the ways of long-term immunocorrection of the physiological status of organism.

Peroxidase activity (PA) was studied in the rat's brain cortex during a 2 months training to hypoxia according to the Barbashova method. PA was investigated histochemically by an ammonium--molibdate--benzidine method on blocks of surviving brain tissue, thereafter they were studied by the contact microscopy. PA was also determined biochemically in water-salt extracts of the brain tissue. A progressive increase of PA in the course of training was shown by both the techniques. The increase of activity is accounted for by the growing quantity of neurons developing the reaction as well as by the growing intensity of reaction in each neuron. The nature of PA of neurons and its adaptive significance in hypoxic conditions is discussed.

Activating effect of the interleukin-1 on the fibrinolytic system was shown in hypofibrinolysis models. This polypeptide exerted an opposite effect on the fibrinolysis which had been activated with i.v. administration of dihydroergotoxine and thrombin.

It is shown that met-enkephalin and morphine injected intraperitoneally to rats in a dose of 0.15 mg/kg do not significantly affect the elaboration of conditioned reaction to place in a T-maze with food reinforcement. D-Ala-met-enkephalin amid in the same dose increases the number of unaccomplished reactions on the 2-nd day of learning without eliciting significant changes of other parameters. Leu-enkephalin and D-Ala-D-Leu-enkephalin (intraperitoneally, 0.15 mg/kg) increase the number of unaccomplished reactions and the time of maze-run when injected before the learning seances. D-Ala-D-enkephalin increases the time of run at its injection "immediately after" the learning seances as well. In this case the Leu-enkephalin is not effective. The obtained data show that enkephalin effects in this experimental test to a certain extent correlate with peptides' ability of binding tightly with delta-opiate brain receptors. Different effects of met- and leu-enkephalins confirm the hypothesis on diversity of peptides' functions in the central nervous system.

It is shown that leu-enkephalin, injected intraperitoneally in doses of 0.15 and 1.0 mg/kg lowers general motor activity of rats in "Animex" apparatus in 10-30 min after the injection. D-substituted analogue of leu-enkephalin D-Ala-D-Leu-enkephalin (0.15 mg/kg) lowers the motor activity already in first 5 min after injection. Met-enkephalin, DALA and morphine in a dose of 0.15 mg/kg do not change the general motor activity of rats in "Animex". Concentration raise of opiate ligands to 1.0 mg/kg does not lead to the development of significant effect in the case of met-enkephalin, but elicits an increase of motor activity under the action of morphine to 25-30 min after injection. During the study of animals' behaviour in "the open field" the leu-enkephalin and D-Ala-D-Leu-enkephalin lower the level of certain emotional reactions in rats, while met-enkephalin and DALA are not effective.

Ampicillin, kanamycin, fusidic acid and rifocin significantly increased the effect of novoimanin on Staph. aureus 209. Histon F1 and spectinomycin did not influence the effect of novoimanin. Inefficiency of novoimanin combination with histon F1 provided a supposition that their effect may be directed to the same cell structures and most probably to the membranes. This was confirmed by the data of electron microscopy. The most effective combinations were recommended for the studies on their possible clinical use.

Ratios and composition of "ultrasonic" fractions of chromatin in cells with different transcription intensity were studied. The hardly extracted residual fraction of chromatin makes up to about 80% DNA in leukocytes (neutrophils) and about 20% in brain tissue. Comparative characterization of fractions showed that residual DNP of brain and liver include, in addition to fragments of inactive condensed chromatin, the sites actively involved in the synthesis of RNA. The residual DNP of leukocytes, on the contrary, possesses a number of characteristics of inactive chromatin. A hypothesis is discussed of the necessity of close contacts between the most intensively transcribed RNAs and nuclear membrane lipid components, resulting in the incorporation of transcribed sites into the residual fraction.

Digesting of chromosomal DNA of interphase rat liver nuclei by Ca, Mg-dependent endonuclease in situ in the presence of chelating agents results in the appearance of the soluble DNP--up to 30% of the total DNA. In addition, 50% of the chromatin is solubilised after mild ultrasonication. In the absence of the chelating agents the degree of fragmentation is considerably increased. The process is accompanied by a loss of some histone and nonhistone chromosomal proteins; the nonhistone proteins are lost selectively. The preliminary removal of the nuclear membrane and significant part of the proteins by tritone X-100 promotes the chromatin degradation and the appearance of low molecular weight fragments. The DNA-fragments of solubilised chromatin are similar to the DNA-fragments of residual chromatin, but in the presence of the chelating agents the latter does not contain monomeric fragments.

Probable peculiarities of evolution of neurotransmitters (NM) and neuromodulators (NR) of various types are discussed. The hypothesis of higher evolutionary rate of peptide NM and NR, and of more diverse possibilities of the formation of this type of NM and NR is suggested. Monomolecular MN and NR are presumably more conservative, although they exhibit some advantage with respect to strict differentiation of the systems of synthesis and degradation. Probably, the most ancient NM and NR are presented by such compounds as peptides, some amino acids, and ATP.

The effect was studied of arginyl-8-vasopressin (AVP) on changes in rats behavioural reactions, elicited by reserpine, haloperidol, aminazine, amitriptyline or nialamide. It has been shown that AVP administered intraperitoneally in a dose of 0.001 mg/kg, eliminates the deficit of elaboration of conditioned reaction of active avoidance produced by psychotropic drugs, without influencing the motor activity reduction developed after administration of these substances.

Under systemic administration tuftsin produces a marked influence on behavior and emotional reactivity in rats: enhances motor (vertical) activity, perception of pain stimulation and related aggressiveness and residual excitation. Activating effect is accompanied by an aggravation of the acquisition of passive avoidance reaction during single reinforcement. In vitro experiments revealed a direct inhibitory effect of tuftsin on the reaction rate of brain tyrosine hydroxylase activity. In vivo there was shown an increase in hypothalamic and especially striatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity. The data obtained indicate direct relationships between tuftsin central effects and the changes in brain catecholaminergic processes participating in the regulation of emotional-motivational and motor reactions.

Experiments on mice and rats have disclosed that taftsin so far known for its stimulatory action on phagocytosis has psychotropic properties. Taftsin potentiates the motor and orienting activity of the animals, reduces the effects of hexenal, reserpine, potentiates the action of amphetamine and arecoline. It shortens the latent period and time of the reaction during training of the rats in a T-shaped maze, but does not increase the number of the training animals. The effect of taftsin has a biphasic nature and seems likely to be related to the effect on alpha-adrenergic systems of the brain.

It was found in studying the antimeningococcus activity of the leukocytic and thymus histones and their fractions that both histones were capable of neutralizing in vitro the activity of the causative agent of meningopneumonia (MP). The neutralization effect was chiefly associated with the F3 fraction rich in arginine and depended on the duration of the histone fraction contact with the MP causative agent, the weight concentration of the histone and the pH of the incubation medium.