Department of biology

SCIENTIFIC WORK

 

Person responsible for the Department of Biology research work

Hurniak Oksana– Senior teacher of the Department of Biology

Phone number: (044) 454 49 95

E-mail: bio.dep.nmu@gmail.com

 

In the XXI century research directions of the Department of Biology were covering problems relevant for the further development of medical biology, ecophysiology of humans and animals, membrane and cell biology, ecology and toxicology, training of qualified specialists in higher educational establishments. In particular, the mechanisms of biologically active compounds (of natural origin and synthesized under laboratory conditions) modulation of synaptic transmission in smooth and skeletal muscles were studied. Also the effect on proliferation process of pharmaceuticals and biomolecule markers was analyzed to predict the state of the organism. Approaches to neutralize the membrane action of poisonous animals and microorganism’s pore-forming toxins were investigated. Scientific principles of training tools creation in “Medical Biology” for students-future doctors and in “Biology with fundamentals of genetics” for students-future pharmacists were developed to ensure their professional training and formation of appropriate competences in them, taking into account the principles of bioethics.

Among the Department`s scientific achievements there is the ascertainment of new way of manifestation of vitamin B1 (thiamine) biological activity associated with its participation in the mechanism of quantum secretion of mediators from nerve endings in warm-blooded and cold-blooded organisms, the basic statements of which were founded by Prof. O.V. Romanenko researches, summarized in his monograph “Neuromodulatory role of thiamine and its derivatives” (1999). Today, the relationship between the receipt of thiamine in the composition of food and the effectiveness of quantum secretion of the mediator from nerve endings, contractile activity of transverse striated muscles, as well as the violation of these processes for the lack of thiamine in the body and approaches to such status correction are proved. The role of thiamine as an ecological factor necessary for the maintenance of motor activity of humans and animals (vertebrates and invertebrates) is characterized, and among the synthetic structural analogues of vitamin B1 are found compounds, capable of effectively blocking the quantum secretion of neurotransmitters and neuromuscular transmission.

These compounds include, in particular, 3-decyloxycarbonylmethyl-4-methyl-5-(2-hydroxyethyl)thiazolium chloride, which has also been shown to be an effective blocker of the ion channels formed by such pore-forming toxins in the bilayer lipid membranes, as produced by black widow spider (latrotoxins), marine actinia (actinoporin), microorganisms streptomycetes (polyene antibiotics nystatin, amphotericin B) and in sensitive cells of the affected organism are capable of forming membrane pores, causing impaired vital functions. In the development of this research direction the Prof. O.V. Romanenko monograph “Ecology of poisonous animals and their toxins” (2011) characterizes poisonous animals of Ukraine and the world fauna as producers of toxins and includes generalized influence mechanisms of such compounds on the processes of intercellular communication in sensitive organisms, on the formation of biotic relations in the ecosystems.

A broader range of questions is described in the monograph “Ecological problems of Kyiv reservoirs and adjacent territories” (2015) prepared with the participation of Prof. O.V. Romanenko, where due to the complexity of the structural and functional organization of the urban ecosystem and many environmental factors acting in it, including those capable of causing its anthropogenic transformation, attention is paid to the related hygienic aspects of problems and biodiversity conservation issues.

Due to the influence of various environmental factors on human, the characterization of vital processes in human body becomes especially relevant. A separate cycle of research at the Department of Biology was devoted to the study of the mechanisms of synaptic inhibition in human smooth muscle and for comparison – in laboratory animals. The amplitude-kinetic parameters of the synaptic potentials were investigated to characterize the state of non-adrenergic synaptic inhibition in isolated strips of smooth muscle of the circular layer of the human intestine, obtained for study in accordance with the current bioethical norms. The involvement of vitamin B6 and its endogenous derivatives in the modulation of synaptic transmission in the smooth muscles of the circulatory tract of warm-blooded organisms was established and a comparative analysis of the mechanisms of its functioning under influence of biologically active compounds of various natures in humans and animals was performed. Also, Department’s staff was involved in analysis of the proliferation markers expression, cell cycle regulators, and analysis of cell receptor status in order to find out the possibility of using molecular biological markers as tools for making individual prognosis of human condition assessment under specific conditions.

All the aforementioned fields of research correspond to the content of fields of specialists training in the medical educational establishments of the IV level of accreditation. In the development of this scientific work on the analysis of integration elements and didactic components of the disciplines “Medical Biology” and “Biology with fundamentals of genetics” was carried out, also work to substantiate the bioethical and psychological and pedagogical aspects of the organization of teaching was performed, developing and improving the means of teaching the named disciplines for students’ preparation and formation of biological competence was carried out. This contributed to the creation of a set of educational books, the usage of which in the educational activity is recommended by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Academic Council of the Bogomolets National Medical University. These textbooks cover fundamental issues in cell biology and individual development, genetics, ecology, parasitology etc.

 

PUBLISHING ACTIVITY