Functional state of the adrenal glands with combination of their morphological reorganization at different stages of a posthypothermic period

Abstract

The problem of human adaptation to extreme environmental factors, in particular to the cold, which is one of the most common, is relevant from general biological and medical points of view. In this case, morphological reorganization takes place in various organs and tissues, and sometimes the changes become irreversible. That’s why from a scientific and practical point of view it is important to assess the role of the cold factor, the influence of which is experienced by most living beings, in particular on the adrenal glands, which are among the first to react to changes in the internal environment of the body. The purpose of the study is to follow the dependence and to study the morphological and functional state of the adrenal glands at various stages after the action of general deep hypothermia. The morphological and functional state of the adrenal glands of white outbred adult male rats was studied using histological, electromicroscopic, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, fluorometric, and statistical methods of research in various periods after exposure to general deep hypothermia. The morphometric analysis of the thickness of the adrenal cortex zones, the diameter of the microvessels, the area of cells and their cores, both cortical and brain, was performed using the software VIAVISION Version 2. The average arithmetic mean (M) and the mean arithmetic mean (m) error using the software were determined. “Statistica-5,0”. The probability of the difference between the mean values and their errors was determined by the criterion of the Student. It has been established that at the height of the cold action, the levels of cortisol and adrenaline increase, along with hypertrophy of the cells of the fasciculate zone and the adrenal medulla. At the stages of the posthypothermic period, one more rise of corticosteroids is observed on the 7th day, while the concentration of catecholamines decreases. The hypertrophy of the adrenocorticocyte of the fasciculate zone persists until the 30th day, and the adrenocyte of the medulla lasts up to 7 days after the action of general deep hypothermia. On the 14th day, in the structural components of the hemomicrocirculatory bed, next to intracellular compensatory-adaptive phenomena, single microvessels with destructive signs of endothelial cells are noted. Until the 30th day, the vast majority of microvessels acquire the characteristic structure of the norm. These changes indicate a close relationship of the sympathoadrenal and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical systems. The results of the conducted research expand modern ideas about the features of angioarchitecture and the submicroscopic structure of the adrenal parenchyma, reveal the structural and functional bases of their restructuring after exposure to general deep hypothermia.