MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF THE ADRENAL GLAND IN RATS UNDER CONDITIONS OF EXPERIMENTAL CHRONIC HYPERGLYCEMIA

Abstract

Today, diabetes is one of the most common diseases of mankind, it ranks third in the world after diseases of the cardiovascular system and oncological pathologies. Chronic hyperglycemia, which leads to structural and functional changes in the organs of all body systems and, in particular, the adrenal gland, which is stress-sensitiveorgans. Therefore, the aim of our study was to determine the morphological changes of adrenal glands in young rats under conditions of alloxan-induced chronic hyperglycemia. The study was conducted on 40 white laboratory rats aged 3-4 months, which were divided into groups: I – control, II – experimental (with a period of chronic hyperglycemia of 30 days), III – experimental (with a period of chronic hyperglycemia of 60 days). The experiment was simulated using a chemical model of type 1 diabetes (using the chemical substance alloxan). Animals were removed from the experiment on the 30th and 60th day by decapitation, and microscopic changes in the cortex and medulla of the adrenal gland were studied. Histological analysis and photography of the sections were carried out using an Olympus BX63 (Japan) microscope at magnifications of 100, 200 and 400. It was established that on the 30th day of the experiment, the connective tissue capsule of the organ was partially thickened and stratified, changes in the architecture of the organ were observed in some places, endocrinocytes were destructively changed, nuclei some cells are pyknotic hyperchromic, there are signs of swelling of the cytoplasm of cells, the appearance of «light» and «dark» endocrinocytes in the cortex of the gland is established. Some chromaffinocytes of the medulla of the organ had signs of edema and vacuolar dystrophy of the cytoplasm. The presence of blood-filled and dilated vessels indicates a violation of microcirculation in the organ. On the 60th day of the study, more significant destructive changes were detected – the connective tissue capsule was thickened, stratified and swollen, endocrinocytes were destructively and dystrophically changed with swelling of the cytoplasm and pyknotically changed nuclei. A small amount of lipid droplets was found in endocrinocytes. Vascular disorders manifested by plethora, with the phenomenon of sludge effect of erythrocytes and diapedesis of leukocytes, perivascular edema, were accompanied by remodeling of endocrinocytes of both adrenal cortex and medulla, which indicates significant disorders of the functional activity of the organ and exhaustion of its adaptive reserves.

Keywords

• hyperglycemia,alloxan,adrenal gland,endocrinocytes,histological changes