One of the approaches to creating biologically active additives for use in pig breeding can be the use of 20-hydroxyecdysone regulating protein metabolism in piglets. The purpose of the work is to assess the effect of 20-hydroxyecdysone on turnover of protein in piglets. The experiment was carried out on barrows (♂ Danish Yorkshire × ♀ Danish landrace) to achieve a live weight of 53-62 kg. At the age of 60 days, 2 groups of piglets were formed: control and experimental. Piglets of the experimental group were injected with 20-hydroxyecdysone at a dose of 1.6 mg / kg body weight. In piglets of the experimental group, in comparison with the control, a decrease in the excretion of nitrogen in the urine was noted (by 26.8%, P <0.05). Nitrogen deposition was higher in piglets of the experimental group by 19.0% (P <0.001) compared with the control. 20-hydroxyecdysone contributed to increased protein deposition in the body of piglets due to protein synthesizing activity. Thus, the use of 20-hydroxyecdysone in pigs increases the efficiency of using amino acids for the synthesis and deposition of proteins in the body.

The addition of lysine, methionine and threonine to the "ideal protein" diet in the low-protein diet contributed to increased protein deposition in the body of piglets due to protein-synthesizing activity. The optimal level and ratio of essential amino acids in low-protein diets provides an increase in the efficiency of the use of amino acids for the synthesis and deposition of proteins in the body of piglets. Based on the results of assessing the metabolism of proteins in the body and their turnover in piglets (♂ Landrace × ♀ Large white) during the period of intensive rearing from 20 to 50 kg of live weight at an average daily gain of 500 g, the following norms for the concentration of nutrients in 1 kg of compound feed are proposed: 12.42 MJ exchange energy; 120.6 g crude protein; 9.10 g lysine; 5.90 g methionine + cystine; 6.09 g threonine at a lysine level of 0.73 g per MJ of metabolizable energy.

In recent years, a number of new functions of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) - leucine, valine and isoleucine - have been revealed in various states of the body in animals and humans. BCAA are involved in the regulation of the metabolism of not only proteins, but also lipids and carbohydrates, maintain the health of the mammary glands and intestines, and help in early implantation and development of embryos. BCAA increase protein synthesis and are currently considered as feed additives to improve meat productivity in pigs. New aspects of metabolic and regulatory functions of BCAA include a number of regularities: 1) insufficient or excessive levels of them in the diet enhances lipolysis; 2) BCAA, especially isoleucine, play an important role in glucose utilization by activating glucose transporters in the intestines and muscles; 3) BCAA enhance the development of the intestine, the transport of amino acids and the production of mucin; 4) BCAA are involved in the regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. In the near future, the use of high-performance functional genomics, metabolomics, and proteomics will make it possible to more fully reveal the functions of BCAA in gene expression, protein synthesis, and metabolism regulation.

Low neuronal density in the neocortex, low serotonin concentration in the brain stem and hemisphere, 2-fold reduced norepinephrine content in the brain stem, and behavioral disorders were found in 40-day-old offspring of female rats treated with lead on day 18 of pregnancy. Key Words: brain; offspring; leadLead affects functional state of the nervous system [1,2,11], especially in children (high lead concentration in bones is associated with asocial, aggressive, or even criminal behavior) [2,11 ]. The intelligence quotient correlates with dentinal lead content in schoolchildren. Lead crosses the placental barrier and is found in breast milk [ 11]. Therefore, studies of delayed lead effects on developing brain are of prime interest. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe offspring (n=19) of 3 rat dams receiving 200 mg/kg PbNO 3 (4% water solution through a gastric tube) on day 18 of pregnancy was examined. The offspring (n=36) of 4 intact rats served as the control. Dams and their offspring were kept in the same vivarium with ad libitum food and water supply. Total exploratory activity of 1-month-old animals was studied in an elevated plus-maze (EPM) [11]. The rats were placed to the center of EPM (5 min). Total locomotor activity was estimated by the time spent in open arms. number of hang down movements, total time spent in open and closed arms, and the number of arm entries. The active exploratory, displacement, and passive explorDepartment of Histology, Department of Normal Physiology, and Central Research Laboratory, Far-Eastern State Medical University; Khabarovsk Regional Center of Mental Health atory behavioral profiles were evaluated by the number of rearings, grooming reactions, and sniffins, respectively. Each parameter was expressed in percents of the control. Rats aging 40 days were decapitated, and the body weight and weight of the brain were measured. Paraffin sections (7 g width) from the left anterioparietal and parietal lobes stained with 1% methylene blue were examined, the width of the cortex and its molecular layer were determined, and the mean number of neurons in a standard vision field in layers I and V were calculated. In the right hemisphere the contents of epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine [4,9], histamine, and serotonin [ 12] were measured on a spectrofluorometer (Hitachi). RESULTSPrenatally treated rats had greater body weights compared to control animals, which was probably due to their lower number in litters (6-8 vs. 8-12 in the control, Table 1). The absolute weight of the brain and width of the cortex and its molecular layer in treated and control rats were similar, while the relative weight of the brain in treated rats was 18.4% lower than in the control. Neuronal densities in the cortical layer V of the anterioparietal and parietal lobes in treated rats were lower than in the control by 14 (0.05

The hypothalamic orexin system is critically involved in addiction, including chronic alcohol abuse. Microinjection of orexin into the lateral hypothalamus increases alcohol intake in rats, while reduced immunoreactivity of orexin neurons is associated with decreased alcohol drinking. Recently, the numbers of orexin neurons were found to be increased in opiate addiction in humans [4] and cocaine addiction in rats [2], but the integrity of orexin neurons has not yet been studied in human alcoholics. We examined the hypothalamus of 9 patients of chronic alcoholism and 10 subjects without a history of alcoholism or any other neurological or psychiatric disorder. We performed immunohistochemistry for orexin A, followed by stereological quantification. The hypothalamic tissue of chronic alcoholics exhibited a slightly increased number (9%) of orexin-containing neurons compared to the control group (123’087 ± 18’536 and 110’431 ± 14’439, p = 0.11). Mean Gundersen’s coefficient of error was 0.06 ± 0.01. The number of orexin neurons was similar in chronic alcoholics and control subjects without a history of alcoholism. Further examination of alcohol-induced hypothalamic damage is needed to understand, whether a neuroplastic increase in orexin neurons counterbalances a concurrent alcohol-toxic damage to these neurons.