Empty nose syndrome pathogenesis and cell-based biotechnology products as a new option for treatment

In this study, we present the potential application of deuterium-depleted water (DDW) for the prevention and adjuvant treatment of obesity in rats. We tested the hypothesis that DDW can alleviate diet-induced obesity (DIO) and its associated metabolic impairments. Rats fed a high-fat diet had an increased body weight index (BWI), glucose concentration, and level of certain proinflammatory cytokines; decreased levels of insulin in the serum; decreased tryptophan and serotonin in the brain, and a decreased concentration of some heavy metals in the liver. Drinking DDW at a concentration of 10 ppm deuterium/protium (D/H) ad libitum for 3 weeks restored the BWI, glucose (serum), tryptophan (brain), and serotonin (brain) levels and concentration of Zn in the liver in the DIO animals to those of the controls. The levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IFNγ) and anti-inflammatory TNFα were decreased in DIO rats, while anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-4, IL-10) levels remained at the control levels, which is indicative of a pathophysiological syndrome. In contrast, in groups of rats treated with DDW, a significant increase in anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-10) and proinflammatory cytokines (IFNγ) was observed. This finding indicates a reduction in systemic inflammation in obese animals treated with DDW. Similarly, the high-fat diet caused an increased level of oxidative stress products, which was accompanied by decreased activity of both superoxide dismutase and catalase, whereas the administration of DDW decreased the level of oxidative stress and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities.

Cosmic dust samples from the surface of the illuminator of the International Space Station (ISS) were collected by a crew member during his spacewalk. The sampler with tampon in a vacuum container was delivered to the Earth. Washouts from the tampon’s material and the tampon itself were analyzed for the presence of bacterial DNA by the method of nested PCR with primers specific to DNA of the genusMycobacteria, DNA of the strains of capsular bacteriaBacillus, and DNA encoding 16S ribosomal RNA. The results of amplification followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis indicated the presence of the bacteria of the genusMycobacteriaand the extreme bacterium of the genusDelftiain the samples of cosmic dust. It was shown that the DNA sequence of one of the bacteria of the genusMycobacteriawas genetically similar to that previously observed in superficial micro layer at the Barents and Kara seas’ coastal zones. The presence of the wild land and marine bacteria DNA on the ISS suggests their possible transfer from the stratosphere into the ionosphere with the ascending branch of the global electric circuit. Alternatively, the wild land and marine bacteria as well as the ISS bacteria may all have an ultimate space origin.