Effect of the bioregulator Thymalin on Lead ion-induced mutagenesis

Lead is the most important, toxic heavy metal in the environment. It has many useful properties such as its softness, ductility, poor electrical conductivity. It is also difficult to oxidize. All this leads to its use in many industries. Lead is non-biodegradable, and it is still widely used today. That is why it accumulates in the environment. When studying the action of lead ions on the human genome, its mutagenic effect was revealed. Altered genomic parameters are subject to correction under certain exposure conditions. In this context, it is appropriate to study geroprotectors - oligopeptides with a regulatory nature. In this regard, special attention is drawn to the study of a new generation of geroprotector drug - thymalin. When exposed to lead ions, there was also a decrease in the intensity of synthetic processes, which was manifested by a decrease in the frequency of active nucleation sites of acrocentric chromosomes and a decrease in the intensity of chromatid associations, under the conditions of exposure to lead ions. Therefore, it is interesting whether the peptide bioregulator thymalin has a protective effect in relation to the mentioned parameters. Accordingly, the aim of the study was to study the possibility of correcting the disturbed chromosomal parameters caused by the action of lead ions (PbCl2 at a concentration of 0.5x10-3 μg/ml) in peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures of middle-aged individuals by means of a peptide bioregulator - thymalin. As it was found in the analysis of the research results, under the influence of lead ions, on the reduction of the intensity of aberrations and synthetic processes recorded in the cells of human peripheral blood lymphocytic cultures, the action of thymalin had a specific character and was sharply different from the similar indicators recorded in the literature for other bioregulators, which indicates the existence of a specific target for this bioregulator in the chromatin.