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Copyright of Medical Journal / Medicinski Časopis is the property of Serbian Medical Society, Section Kragujevac and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Changes in the methionine metabolism can cause a state called hyperhomocysteinemia, inducing oxidative stress in the gut. The production of free radicals is important in the colon damage caused by methionine. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of the use of l-cysteine and N-acetyl-l-cysteine on the colon morphometry of young rats treated with methionine. A total number of 32 male rats were distributed in a randomized experimental design in 4 groups: control group treated with saline; methionine group; cysteine + methionine group, and N-acetyl-l-cysteine + methionine group. After 21 days of treatment, rats were sacrificed and the colon samples were taken for histological and biochemical analysis. Methionine load increased depth of crypts, the lamina muscularis mucosae thickness, the mucosal height, and the number of cells in lamina propria (p < 0.01). Combination of methionine with l-cysteine (C group) and with N-acetyl-l-cysteine (N group) reversed methionine effects. Methionine treatment increased the GPx activity and MDA concentration, while l-cysteine and N-acetyl-l-cysteine increased the catalase activity compared to methionine group. It was concluded that the use of l-cysteine and N-acetyl-l-cysteine was beneficial to decrease intestinal mucosal height and oxidative damage when methionine was used in combination with them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardioprotective effects of fullerenol C60(OH)24 nanoparticles (FNP) were investigated in pigs after a single treatment with doxorubicin (DOX). Semithin and ultrathin sections of myocardial tissue routinely prepared for transmission electron microscopy were analyzed. Extensive intracellular damage was confirmed in cardiomyocytes of DOX-treated animals. By means of ultrastructural analysis, a certain degree of parenchymal degeneration was confirmed even in animals treated with FNP alone, including both the oral and the intraperitoneal application of the substance. The cardioprotective effects of FNP in animals previously treated with DOX were recognized to a certain extent, but were not fully confirmed at the ultrastructural level. Nevertheless, the myocardial morphology of DOX-treated animals improved after the admission of FNP. Irregular orientation of myofibrils, myofibrillar disruption, intracellular edema, and vacuolization were reduced, but not completely eliminated. Reduction of these cellular alterations was achieved if FNP was applied orally 6 h prior to DOX treatment in a dose of 18 mg/kg. However, numerous defects, including the inner mitochondrial membrane and the plasma membrane disruption of certain cells persisted. In FNP/DOX-treated animals, the presence of multinuclear cells with mitosis-like figures resembling metaphase or anaphase were observed, indicating that DOX and FNP could have a complex influence on the cell cycle of cardiomyocytes. Based on this experiment, further careful increase in dosage may be advised to enhance FNP-induced cardioprotection. These investigations should, however, always be combined with ultrastructural analysis. The FNP/DOX interaction is an excellent model for the investigation of cardiomyocyte cell death and cell cycle mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Angiosarcomas (ASs) arising from vascular tissue, account for 3.3% of all sarcomas and have a poor prognosis. Radiation-induced AS is a rare late complication of radiotherapy (RT) treatment and is characterized by a gene expression profile such as amplification of the MYC oncogene, by which we can distinguish primary from secondary induced tumor. Case report. For a 77- year-old female patient with early-stage endometrial adenocarcinoma, a radical hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was initially done. According to pathological risk factors, the postoperative external beam conformal RT (CRT) of the pelvis was administered with concomitant brachytherapy. Six years after the treatment, on the anterior abdominal wall, in the region of the postoperative irradiation field and surgical scar, an infiltrative AS of the skin and subcutaneous adipose tissue was histologically confirmed. The patient received six cycles of mono-adriamycin chemotherapy with verified partial regression. Additional immunohistochemical analysis (IHC) of c-MYC, Ki67, and CD34 expression showed a high proliferative index (Ki67 around 60%) and c-MYC positivity indicating the molecular pattern of radiationinduced AS. Furthermore, the high proliferative index could explain the positive response to chemotherapy. Conclusion. The novel postoperative RT techniques provide better survival and local control in riskendometrial cancer groups with a decrease in irradiation complications. These patients with longer survival are at a higher risk of developing radiation-induced tumors as late side-effects of RT. When assessing the probability of radiation-induced AS, IHC analysis of c-MYC expression could distinguish secondary from other AS if Cahan's criteria are fulfilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the role of lateral interactions, we quantified spontaneous contractions of whole and longitudinally cut rat's portal vein in vitro. The disruption of the wall had no effect on basic frequency determined from spectra and complexity index (CI) calculated by multiscale entropy analysis. Endothe-lium was disrupted and nonfunctional in all samples. Considering amplitude, frequency and CI we identified two modes of contractions. Neither mode of contractions nor the effect of aminopyridine (4-AP) depended on the integrity of the wall. We concluded that contractions in vitro originate in smooth muscle cells without involvement of the endothelium and lateral interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardioprotective effects of fullerenol C60(OH)24 nanoparticles (FNP) were investigated in pigs after a single treatment with doxorubicin (DOX). Semithin and ultrathin sections of myocardial tissue routinely prepared for transmission electron microscopy were analyzed. Extensive intracellular damage was confirmed in cardiomyocytes of DOX-treated animals. By means of ultrastructural analysis, a certain degree of parenchymal degeneration was confirmed even in animals treated with FNP alone, including both the oral and the intraperitoneal application of the substance. The cardioprotective effects of FNP in animals previously treated with DOX were recognized to a certain extent, but were not fully confirmed at the ultrastructural level. Nevertheless, the myocardial morphology of DOX-treated animals improved after the admission of FNP. Irregular orientation of myofibrils, myofibrillar disruption, intracellular edema, and vacuolization were reduced, but not completely eliminated. Reduction of these cellular alterations was achieved if FNP was applied orally 6 h prior to DOX treatment in a dose of 18 mg/kg. However, numerous defects, including the inner mitochondrial membrane and the plasma membrane disruption of certain cells persisted. In FNP/DOX-treated animals, the presence of multinuclear cells with mitosis-like figures resembling metaphase or anaphase were observed, indicating that DOX and FNP could have a complex influence on the cell cycle of cardiomyocytes. Based on this experiment, further careful increase in dosage may be advised to enhance FNP-induced cardioprotection. These investigations should, however, always be combined with ultrastructural analysis. The FNP/DOX interaction is an excellent model for the investigation of cardiomyocyte cell death and cell cycle mechanisms.

Coronary artery by-pass grafting (CABG) with arterial grafts is widely accepted as the procedure of choice in the treatment of coronary ischemic disease. It brings back focus on morphological studies of arteries used as conduits in this procedure. One of the most frequently used CABG grafts is the internal thoracic artery with an excellent graft prognosis and patency rate. The aim of the study was a detailed morphological and morphometric description of the internal thoracic artery with an emphasis on its basic histological structure and its changes in aging and atherosclerosis. Therefore, 42 full-length arteries were obtained during forensic autopsies from 27 persons, aged between 20 and 81 years, who had died from non-vascular causes. The arteries were classified into three different age groups. Analysis of the serial arterial segments has shown that the internal thoracic artery is an artery of the transitional type whose media is organized into two layers: the internal, muscular layer and the external layer with spirally oriented elastic lamellae and smooth muscle cells in between. The number of elastic lamellae progressively decreases throughout the length of the examined arteries. As opposed to previous assumptions, we have proven that the grade of atherosclerosis is independent of the number of elastic lamellae in the external media. Perfectly formed elastic lamellae are not a persistent feature of the internal thoracic artery, as previously claimed. We have confirmed that the thickness of elastic lamellae decreases, while the number and the size of their fenestrations steadily increase with aging.