Tolstun D. Effects of hypoxic hypercapnic environment on physiological indices and ageing of laboratory animals

The dissertation is devoted to research of possibility decrease the basic physiological indicators of intensity of a metabolism which are considered as the most effective determinants of active longevity and slowing down of development of age pathology. HHE for mice was created by placing animals in containers with limited ventilation which led to decreased Po2 and a proportional increase in Pco2. The level of hypoxia and hypercapnia was additionally varied by preliminary addition of other gases - He, Ar, N2, H2, O2, CO2. HHE decreases the rate of gaseous exchange (Vo2 and Vco2), food and water consumption and body weight making it a model of "voluntary" caloric restriction and normalization of the overweight. No significant changes in the expression of genes that are usually activated at stress (hsp-90) or uncoupling of oxidation and phosphorylation (ucp-2) were observed. Hypometabolism and hypothermia in HHE are the most important findings of this research and could have wide application in biology and medicine. In particular, HHE prevented development of diabetes in the streptozotocin model and accelerated wound healing. Incubation of fruit flies in an artificial atmosphere with adding of optimal concentrations of Н2, He and Ar to the air led to a slowdown in the gaseous exchange rate, increase of activity of the key antioxidant enzymes (SOD and catalase), thus ensuring elevated stress endurance and extension of life span.