Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the effects of thymoquinone (TQ) on histological and immunohistochemical changes in the cerebellar cortex induced by propylthiouracil (PTU) treatment in rats.Methods: Thirty-two adult male albino rats were randomly divided into four groups: C, control; PTU, treatment with oral PTU to induce hypothyroidism; TQ, treatment with TQ; and PTU + TQ, concomitant treatment with oral PTU and TQ for 6 weeks. Cavalieri’s principle and physical dissector methods were employed for unbiased deduction of cerebellar granular layer volume, numerical density, and number of granular cells.Results: In the PTU group, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained sections revealed degeneration of Purkinje cells, neuronal loss, and spongiosis in the white matter. A decrease in the number of astrocytes-expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and a significant decrease in granular layer cell density were also seen. Concomitant administration of TQ ameliorated histopathological changes, increased the proportion of GFAP-positive astrocytes, increased granular cell density, and significantly (p < 0.05) increased the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormones, T3 and T4.Conclusion: TQ treatment significantly decreases cerebellar changes resulting from PTU-induced hypothyroidism, and results in the retention of neuronal structural integrity in the cerebellar cortex.Keywords: Hypothyroidism, Cerebellum, Thymoquinone, Stereology, Glial fibrillary acidic protein, Neuronal structural integrity
Highlights
Several studies have demonstrated that the cerebellum mainly functions to coordinate motor functions and control muscle tone and balance
Previous studies have shown that a thyroid hormone (TH) deficiency in adulthood is associated with common cognitive deficits, including reduced general awareness, attention, learning, memory, and psychomotor pace [3]
This was in addition to wide areas of neuronal loss and increased frequency of Purkinje cell deformation and degeneration compared with other groups
Summary
Several studies have demonstrated that the cerebellum mainly functions to coordinate motor functions and control muscle tone and balance. Four groups containing 8 rats each were treated as follows: Group 1 (cont) received pure water equal to the amount of PTU as a control; Group 2 (PTU) received 6 mg/kg of PTU by gastric gavage for 6 weeks to induce hypothyroidism; Group 3 (TQ) was treated with TQ (10 mg/kg per day) added to drinking water for 6 weeks; and Group 4 (PTU + TQ) received TQ and PTU at the same dose and duration as Groups 2 and 3. According to the disector method, granular cells that appear in the reference section and not in the look-up section should be counted. This method is a thematic calculation of numerical density [17].
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