The Katun River originates in the steppe of the Altai Mountains in Siberia. One of the major headwaters of the Ob River, the Katun is considered central to the culture of the indigenous Altaians. The Katun Valley contains large numbers of important cultural sites, dating from the Neolithic and representing some of the earliest human settlement in Russia. Modern‐day Altaians still observe traditional ceremonies honoring the river and springs throughout the watershed and utilize traditional ecological knowledge in their management of the land and water resources. Russian and international scientists have identified the Altai Mountains as a region of high plant diversity and endemism, and as important habitat for endangered species such as the snow leopard. The Katun River itself contains species of threatened and endangered fishes, and its headwaters are part of the unusual Mongolian ichthyofaunal province that is characterized by high levels of endemism. The same regions are considered by the Altaian people to be special or sacred and are recognized by Western scientists as having great value for conservation. During the era of perestroika, a hydroelectric dam was to be built on the Katun. The large dam, a vestige of the earlier Soviet plan for the Project of the Century, would have devastated significant agricultural, ecological, recreational, and cultural resources. The indigenous Altaian people would have lost much of their sacred and cultural landscape. The Katun dam project united indigenous people, well‐known Siberian writers, and scientists in protest, which became so heated that it engaged the international community, with lasting effects on Russian society. The magnitude of the protest illustrates the importance of the Altai Mountain region to all of Russia. The active participation of indigenous Altaians reflected their traditional willingness to take action against political decisions that negatively impacted the environmental, cultural, and religious values of their homeland. Their involvement also reflected the new wave of awareness under perestroika that underscored a greater respect and autonomy for indigenous peoples in Russia.

Системная склеродермия (ССД) харак-теризуется чрезмерным фиброзообразовани-ем, микроангиопатией и наличием циркули-рующих антител к различным аутоантигенам.Патогенез ССД до сих пор полностью не изу-чен. В частности, остается не до конца выяс-ненной роль аутоиммунитета в развитии кли-нико-патогенетических фенотипов. 418Научно-практическая ревматология. 2016(54)4:418-423 О р и г и н а л ь н ы е и с с л е д о в а н и я Objective: to estimate frequency of autoantibodies in a cohort of Russian patients with systemic sclerosis (SS) and to investigate clinical associations of these autoantibodies. Subjects and methods. In 2012 to 2015, the investigation enrolled 300 patients (58 men and 242 women) who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) SS criteria. All patients underwent immunological examination including determination of antinuclear antibodies, anti-topoisomerase I (anti-Scl-70) antibodies, anti-centromere antibodies (ACA), anti-U1-ribonucleoprotein antibodies (anti-U1 RNP), and anti-RNP III antibodies. Results and discussion. The vast majority of patients were middle-aged females with moderate disease duration. There was a preponderance of patients with limited cutaneous form (55.3%); 37.4% patients had diffuse SS; 5.9% had overlap syndrome; and <1% had visceral and juvenile SS. The vast majority (83.8%) of patients were found to have antinuclear factor. Among the SS-associated antibodies, anti-Scl-70 were most common and were revealed in approximately one-half of the patients. ACA was present in only 44 (14.6%) patients. There was a combination of positivity for ACA and anti-Scl-70 antibodies in 3 patients with limited cutaneous SS, including one with an early form of the disease. 26 patients had anti-U1 RNP antibodies. Among them, there was a preponderance of patients with limited cutaneous SS and overlap syndrome. Anti-RNP III antibodies were found in 5.5% of cases, mainly in those with limited cutaneous SS; these were observed in one patient with diffuse SS and interstitial lung disease. No kidney injury was seen in this patient group. Conclusion. The characteristics of the Russian cohort are the preponderance of the limited cutaneous SS and the frequent detection of anti-Scl-70 antibodies in both diffuse and limited cutaneous SS; no correlation of anti-Scl-70 antibodies with rapid progression of the pathological process, with kidney disease. PROFILE OF AUTOANTIBODIES IN SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS

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Background: Protein 14-3-3η (eta) involved in the upregulation of inflammatory and joint damage factors [1]. 14-3-3η is the candidate biomarker of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [2]. Objectives: To evaluate the clinical utility of 14-3-3η for diagnosis of RA. Methods: We studied 44 patients (pts) with RA, 5 man and 39 women, median (25-75 percentile) of age 45 (33-59) years; disease duration is 10 (5-20) months, DAS28 5,2 (4,4-6,2); 5 pts with systemic lupus erythematosus, 4-ankylosing spondylitis, 5-OVERLAP, 4 with psoriatic arthritis and 20 healthy individuals. 14-3-3η, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide autoantibody (anti-CCP) was measured in serum by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, IgM rheumatoid factor (IgM RF) measured-by immunonephelometry. Results: The diagnostic sensitivity of 14-3-3η for RA (cut off 0,19 ng/ml) is 70,5%, specificity-83,7%; positive likelihood ratio-4,33, negative likelihood ratio-0,35; positive predictive value-81,6%, negative predictive value-73,5%; AUC-0,78 (CI 0,68-0,88). Concomitant presence of 14-3-3η and IgM RF, anti-CCP was determined in 68%, 73% of the patients with RA respectively. 14-3-3η had correlation with IgM RF (r=0,7, p<0,05). Conclusions: Serum 14-3-3η are helpful for the diagnosis of RA. References: [1] van Beers-Tas MH, et al. A prospective cohort study of 14-3-3η in ACPA and/or RF-positive patients with arthralgia.