Sequential morphological and functional features of retinal damage in mice exposed to different doses (40 vs. 20 mg/kg) of sodium iodate (NaIO3) were analyzed. Retinal morphology, apoptosis (TUNEL assay), and function (electroretinography; ERG) were examined at several time points after NaIO3 administration. The higher dose of NaIO3 caused progressive degeneration of the whole retinal area and total suppression of scotopic and photopic ERG. In contrast, the lower dose induced much less severe degeneration in peripheral part of retina along with a moderate decline of b- and a-wave amplitudes in ERG, corroborating the presence of regions within retina that retain their function. The peak of photoreceptor apoptosis was found on the 3rd day, but the lower dose induced more intense reaction within the central retina than in its peripheral region. In conclusion, these results indicate that peripheral area of the retina reveals better resistance to NaIO3 injury than its central part.

Objective: Abnormalities in haematological parameters have been noted in patients with thyroid diseases. Nevertheless, the exact mechanism of thyroid hormones' (THs) action on human haematopoiesis is still not entirely clear. Design: The influence of THs through TH receptors (TRa-1 and TRb-1) on haematopoiesis in patients with hypo-and hyperthyroidism was analysed. Methods: TR gene expression at the mRNA and protein levels in human CD34C -enriched haematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) obtained from the peripheral blood of patients with thyroid disorders and healthy volunteers was analysed. The cell populations were also investigated for clonogenic growth of granulocyte macrophage-colony forming units and erythrocyte-burst forming units (BFU-E). The level of apoptosis was determined by annexin V/propidium iodide staining and quantitative RT-PCR. Results: The studies revealed that hypo-and hyperthyroidism modify TR gene expression in HPCs in vivo. TH deficiency resulted in a decrease in total blood counts and clonogenic potential of BFU-E. In contrast, hyperthyroid patients presented increased clonogenic growth and BFU-E number and significantly higher expressions of cell cycle-regulating genes such as those for PCNA and cyclin D1. Finally, an increase in the frequency of apoptotic CD34C -enriched HPCs in hypo-and hyperthyroidism with a modulation of apoptosis-related genes was detected. Conclusions: The following conclusions were derived: i) TR expression in human haematopoietic cells depends on TH status, ii) both hypo-and hyperthyroidism significantly influence clonogenicity and induce apoptosis in CD34 C -enriched HPCs and iii) the molecular mechanism by which THs influence haematopoiesis might provide a basis for designing novel therapeutic interventions in thyroid diseases.

BackgroundThe frequency of preterm labour has risen over the last few years. Hence, there is growing interest in the identification of markers that may facilitate prediction and prevention of premature birth complications. Here, we studied the association of the number of circulating stem cell populations with the incidence of complications typical of prematurity.MethodsThe study groups consisted of 90 preterm (23–36 weeks of gestational age) and 52 full-term (37–41 weeks) infants. Non-hematopoietic stem cells (non-HSCs; CD45-lin-CD184+), enriched in very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs), expressing pluripotent (Oct-4, Nanog), early neural (β-III-tubulin), and oligodendrocyte lineage (Olig-1) genes as well as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs; CD45+lin-CD184+), and circulating stem/progenitor cells (CSPCs; CD133+CD34+; CD133-CD34+) in association with characteristics of prematurity and preterm morbidity were analyzed in cord blood (CB) and peripheral blood (PB) until the sixth week after delivery. Phenotype analysis was performed using flow cytometry methods. Clonogenic assays suitable for detection of human hematopoietic progenitor cells were also applied. The quantitative parameters were compared between groups by the Mann–Whitney test and between time points by the Friedman test. Fisher’s exact test was used for qualitative variables.ResultsWe found that the number of CB non-HSCs/VSELs is inversely associated with the birth weight of preterm infants. More notably, a high number of CB HSCs is strongly associated with a lower risk of prematurity complications including intraventricular hemorrhage, respiratory distress syndrome, infections, and anemia. The number of HSCs remains stable for the first six weeks of postnatal life. Besides, the number of CSPCs in CB is significantly higher in preterm infants than in full-term neonates (p < 0.0001) and extensively decreases in preterm babies during next six weeks after birth. Finally, the growth of burst-forming unit of erythrocytes (BFU-E) and colony-forming units of granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) obtained from CB of premature neonates is higher than those obtained from CB of full-term infants and strongly correlates with the number of CB-derived CSPCs.ConclusionWe conclude that CB HSCs are markedly associated with the development of premature birth complications. Thus, HSCs ought to be considered as the potential target for further research as they may be relevant for predicting and controlling the morbidity of premature infants. Moreover, the observed levels of non-HSCs/VSELs circulating in CB are inversely associated with the birth weight of preterm infants, suggesting non-HSCs/VSELs might be involved in the maturation of fetal organism.

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Favipiravir (FPV) is a novel antiviral drug acting as a competitive inhibitor of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), preventing viral transcription and replication. FPV was approved in Japan in 2014 for therapy of influenza unresponsive to standard antiviral therapies. FPV was also used in the therapy of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetic parameters, toxicity, and adverse effects of FPV, as well as clinical studies evaluating the use of FPV in the therapy of influenza virus (IV) infection, EVD, and SARS-CoV-2 infection, along with its effectiveness in treating other human RNA infections.