Vol 4, No 2 (2012)

The major criteria for scholarly journals selection to be covered by the Web of Science are discussed. These criteria include the compliance of a journal with world standards, the international diversity, citation score of authors and editorial board members, the journal impact factor and journals self-citation. The demand for the unified transliteration of the authors name and the use of the unified English-language name and address of a research organization, as well as for including the information on funding organization (grant number and agency name) is emphasized.

In this paper, we shall consider the main evolutionary stages that occurred within the field of physicochemical biology during the 20th century, following the determination of the tertiary structure of DNA by Watson and Crick and the subsequent successes in the X-ray structural analysis of biopolymers. The authors’ ideas on the pre-emptive problems and the methods used in physicochemical biology in the 21st century are also presented, including an investigation of the dynamics of biochemical processes, studies of the functions of unstructured proteins, as well as single-molecule investigations of enzymatic processes and of biopolymer tertiary structure formation.

Factor IX is a zymogen enzyme of the blood coagulation cascade. Inherited absence or deficit of the IX functional factor causes bleeding disorder hemophilia B, which requires constant protein replacement therapy. Reviewed herein are the current state in the manufacturing of FIX, improved variants of the recombinant protein for therapy, transgenic organisms for obtaining FIX, and the advances in the gene therapy of hemophilia B.

Carriage frequencies of alleles and genotypes of the TGFB1 gene polymorphous loci -509C>T (rs1800469), 869T>C (rs1982073), 915G>C (rs1800471), which affect the level of cytokine TGF-ß1 production, were analyzed in the patients of Russian ethnic descent with myocardial infarction (MI) (406 cases) and in the control group of the same ethnic descent (198 controls). Significant association with MI was observed in carriage frequencies of the allele TGFB1*-509T (p=0.046, OR =1.45, 95% CI: 1.02-2.06), genotypes TGFB1*869T/T (p=0.0024, OR =1.75, 95% CI: 1.22-2.51), and TGFB1*915G/G (p=0.048, OR=1.76, 95% CI: 1.05-2.97). Linkage disequilibrium analysis for these SNPs has shown that the associations revealed can be considered to be independent. A complex analysis of MI association with combinations of alleles/genotypes of said SNPs indicates their cumulative effect. An analysis of susceptibility to early-onset MI (< 50 years old) revealed a positive association of the allele TGFB1*-509T (p=0.002, OR=2.24, 95% CI: 1.35-3.71) and genotype TGFB1*869T/T (p=0.008, OR=1.93, 95% CI: 1.18-3.15), as well as their additivity. An analysis of susceptibility to recurrent MI revealed an association of the genotype TGFB1*-509T/T (p=0.0078, 0R=2.60, 95% CI: 1.28-5.28). The results obtained indicate the important role of the TGFB1 gene in susceptibility to MI, including early-onset and recurrent MI, in Russians.

The Type III secretion system (T3SS) is currently considered to be one of the main pathogenicity factors in Gram-negative bacteria, which exhibit different types of parasitizing activity. The presence of this structure is essential for the development of an acute infection; the chronicity of the infection is fundamentally dependent upon its functioning. In this regard, T3TS is one of the most promising targets for the development of broad-spectrum antimicrobial drugs that do not develop resistance and are efficacious for the acute and chronic forms of infection. The mechanism of action in drug development is based on the specific inhibition of T3SS, which should interrupt the infectious process, thereby enabling the immune system to eliminate the pathogen. As a result of pilot screening using specific cellular and bacterial tests, followed by chemical optimization and detailed characterization of the biological activity, a new class of chlamydial T3SS inhibitors was obtained. The selected compounds have obvious advantages over the currently available inhibitors of T3SS pathogens thanks to the high inhibitory activity of these compounds with minimal damaging effects on eukaryotic cells. Preclinical trials of the selected inhibitors are currently under way.

The chemotactic properties of cyclophilin A are well-known. There exists however a poor level of understanding regarding the hemostatic effects of this protein. Herein it is shown that recombinant human cyclophilin A (rhСyA), in contrast to the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, is capable of inhibiting in vitro the formation of a fibrin clot, thereby violating the spatial dynamics of clot growth; this effect is transient and dose-independent. Furthermore, the hypothesis that the conformational changes in the thrombin-rhCyA complex may mediate the anticoagulant effect of rhCyA on the autowave processes of blood clotting is postulated.