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Biomineralization is a process of formation of biominerals widespread among living organisms. This phenomenon occurs in the central nervous system in normal and pathological conditions. Typically, this can manifest age-related changes, and the prevalence of biominerals increases with age. At the same time, it can be a sign of pathology-tumour growth, dystrophy, metabolic disorders, etc. This work aims to study the morphological features of the dura mater with signs of biomineralization. In this work, we examined 30 samples of the dura mater with signs of biomineralization (group I) and 30 samples without these signs (group II) obtained during autopsies in the pathology department of the Sumy Regional Clinical Hospital. For the morphological charact erist ics of the dura mat er, we used hi stologi cal, hi stochemi cal and immunohistochemical methods, as well as scanning electron microscopy. Statistical processing of the results of the immunohistochemical study was carried out in the GraphPad Prism 8.0 statistical package using parametric and non-parametric research methods. To divide the samples into groups, we relied on the histological method-staining with hematoxylin-eosin. Histochemical methods (alizarin red staining, von Koss method) confirmed the presence of calcium compounds in the studied group. Van Gieson staining visualized the collagen fibres of the dura mater, and the PAS reaction di d not reveal the presence of gl ycosaminogl ycans in the mineral deposit s. Immunohistochemical examination of the dura mater with antibodies against osteopontin revealed a significant difference between the study and control groups (p<0.001), confirming the critical role of osteopontin in the biomineralization process in this tissue. With the help of scanning electron microscopy, it was found that biominerals in the dura mater are represented by tens to hundreds of formations of various shapes (rounded, oval and irregular), varying from tens of nanometers to 50 micrometres. Their composition was analyzed using maps and spectra of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and most probably corresponded to calcium hydroxyapatite. So, the dura mater is characterized by biomineralization, manifested by the formation of microscopic calcium hydroxyapatite composites.

Campylobacter jejuni colonizes hosts by interacting with Blood Group Antigens (BgAgs) on the surface of gastrointestinal epithelia. Genetic variations in BgAg expression affects host susceptibility to C. jejuni. Here, we show that the essential major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of C. jejuni NCTC11168 binds to the Lewis b (Leb) antigen on the gastrointestinal epithelia of host tissues and this interaction can be competitively inhibited by ferric quinate (QPLEX), a ferric chelate structurally similar to bacterial siderophores. We provide evidence that QPLEX competitively inhibits the MOMP-Leb interaction. Furthermore, we demonstrate that QPLEX can be used as a feed additive in broiler farming to significantly reduce C. jejuni colonization. Our results indicate that QPLEX can be a viable alternative to the preventative use of antibiotics in broiler farming to combat C. jejuni infections.

Environmental pollution by heavy metals (HMs) is an increasingly critical problem that is posing a growing threat to reproductive health. Consequently, the aim of the current research was to study changes in rat uterus under 90 days of HMs exposure and estimate the efficacy and benefits of vitamin E treatment. Female rats were randomly divided into three groups: untreated animals (control group); animals orally treated with the HMs mixture (HM group); and animals treated simultaneously with HMs and vitamin E (HM+E group). The toxic effects of the HMs (comprising Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe, Pb, and Cr) on the uterus of rats were investigated by histological, morphometrical, spectrophotometrical, and statistical methods.

Long-term HMs exposure triggered pathological (degenerative, inflammation, and atrophic) changes in the rat uterus together with a significant reduction of the uterine-wall thickness (37.99%, p<0.0001) compared to the control. In contrast, there was a lower intensity of morphological lesions and wall thickness decrease (26.03%, p<0.0001) in the uterus, in rats that underwent treatment with vitamin E. A substantial bioaccumulation of zinc, copper, manganese, iron, lead, and chromium general levels in the rat uterus was demonstrated in both the HM group (74.46%, p<0.0001) and the HM+E group (49.81%, p<0.0001), as compared to the control group. The lowest accumulative potential belonged to Zn and the highest to Pb. The results obtained showed a significant decline in the weight of animals treated by HMs in both HM (18,21%, p<0.01) and HM+E (13,09%; p<0.05) groups compared to the control. Our findings have demonstrated that treatment with vitamin E in HM-induced intoxication has a significant restrain of HMs accumulation (up to 16.46%, p<0.0001) together with morphometric variations (less on 16.17%, p<0.01).

In summary, long-term exposure to the HMs mixture had a pernicious toxic effect on the morphology and chemical content of the uterus of rats (strong negative correlations). Treatment with vitamin E significantly reversed the HMs impact on the uterus but did not demonstrate absolute protection.

Introduction: Ovarian cancer is an oncogynecological disease with high mortality. High mortality caused by this pathology is associated with diagnosis at the III–IV stage of the disease. This stage of the disease is characterized by metastasis and reflected in the 5-year survival rate, decreasing to 30.2 %. At the same time, when diagnosed at the I–II stage, this indicator is 92.6%.

The aim of the work is bibliometric analysis and generalization of data from scientific sources on the study of ovarian cancer metastasis.

Materials and methods: Information was searched on electronic resources of the Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases using the keywords "ovarian cancer" and "metastases." An online platform for monitoring and analyzing scientific sources was used for bibliometric analysis. We used several VOSviewer bibliometric network visualization system tools and SciVal (Scopus) modern citation requirements.

Results: It has been established that metastasis of ovarian cancer can occur in several ways and depends on the conditions of the tumor microenvironment. The influence of E-cadherin, MMP-2, and transglutaminase-2 on metastasis processes was evaluated. Also, the role of cytokines in the invasiveness of the tumor process and metastasis was established. The results of bibliometric analysis of scientific sources showed that over the past 20 years, the number of publications on ovarian cancer metastasis has increased significantly, and the most widely given topic is studied in the USA and China.

Conclusions: Metastasis of ovarian cancer can occur in several ways and depends on the conditions of the tumor microenvironment. It was found that among the analyzed 496 publications, the most relevant directions are molecular-biological and signaling pathways, which are described in many ways in scientific sources on ovarian cancer metastasis. The calcification of peritoneal metastases and their formation mechanism are currently not investigated, and there is no thorough explanation that may become a perspective for further research.

Psammoma Bodies (PBs) are concentric calcined structures. The formation of PBs begins during the initial stages of carcinogenesis, which is an important feature for the diagnostics of serous ovarian carcinoma. The aim of our work was to study the nanocrystalline structure of PBs of serous ovarian carcinoma for practical use in diagnostics. According to the size, these structures were divided into 3 groups: large - more than 200μm, medium - 71-199μm, and small - up to 70μm. The structure of PBs was represented by lamellae and interlamellar layers. The mean thickness of the lamellae was 0.65 ± 0.02μm, and the thickness of the inter-lamellar layers was 3.7 ± 0.17μm. A strong correlation between the thickness of the interlamellar layer and the size of PBs was found for all groups of calcifications. It has been found that PBs consisted of hydroxyapatite and contained proteins. Therefore, based on the nanocrystalline structure and morphometric characteristics of PBs, this pattern can be used in practice for the early diagnosis of serous ovarian cancer.

Calcification is one of the clinical and morphological manifestations of ovarian tumors and it begins at the initial stages of carcinogenesis. Thus, this process can be used for the early diagnostics of some malignant ovarian tumors. We compared the results of ultrasound and histology and found that calcifications of a size less than 200 μm are not detected by ultrasound. These calcified structures are round fragile particles of different sizes. In the EDX (Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) spectra, the main lines were from Ca and P, and the ratio of these elements corresponds to hydroxyapatite. Thus, we established that hydroxyapatite is the main mineral component of ovarian psammoma bodies and could be used for early diagnostics of ovarian malignant neoplasia.

The role of prolactin (PRL) and its receptors in the initiation and development of benign breast tumors (BBT) has not been sufficiently studied. An imbalance in the system of hormone homeostasis is crucial in the development of BBT. In particular, an association between elevated prolactin levels and the development of BBT has been reported. Our study showed no significant differences between PRL receptor (PRL-R) expression in BBT tissue under normal and elevated serum PRL levels. There was also no significant correlation between age, PRL-R expression in BBT tissue, intact tissue, and PRL level in the serum. There was a strong significant correlation (p < 0.01; r = 0.92) between PRL-R expression in BBT samples and intact breast tissue, which did not depend on the serum PRL level. There was also no significant difference in the expression of the proliferative marker Ki-67 in BBT tissues from women with normal and elevated levels of serum PRL (p > 0.05). No signs of PRL and its receptors were detected in the BBT cystic fluid women with elevated serum PRL levels. In summary, our prospective study showed that the expression of PRL-R in the tissue of BBT and physiological breast tissue does not depend on the level of serum PRL.