The aim of the study was to comprehensively assess histological parameters of the hypothalamic neurosecretory and immune systems in pregnant rats exposed to passive smoking and their offspring.Material and methods. We studied morphological and immunological parameters of pregnant Wistar rats exposed to passive smoking and those of the control group, as well as their offspring. The obtained material was processed using histological, immunohistochemical, morphometric and immunological methods.Results. The results obtained demonstrated that in rats exposed to passive smoking, the sizes of neurosecretory cells (NSCs) of the supraoptic (SO) and paraventricular (PV) nuclei of the hypothalamus increased, the number of p53 positive NSCs increased, and bcl-2 protein expression decreased. Tobacco smoking caused formation of a proaptotic dominant in the neurosecretory cells of the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus. Passive smoking led to a decreased body weight, a decreased number of thymocytes and myelokaryocytes in pregnant rats. In young rats born from the animals exposed to passive smoking, there was a slowdown in the processes of postnatal differentiation of the adrenal cortex (fascicular zone) with preservation of the extended zone of the fetal cortex. Notably, histo- and morphogenesis both in the organs of the primary (thymus) and secondary (spleen, lymph nodes) links of immunogenesis were delayed. In such young rats, a decreased body weight, thymus, number of thymocytes and splenocytes were recorded.Conclusion. Total results of the study evidence that passive smoking causes immunosuppressive changes in pregnant rats and their offspring combined with delayed postnatal histogenesis and proapoptotic manifestations in the nonapeptide-dergic hypothalamicpituitary adrenocortical system, which can be regarded as an unfavorable factor in the implementation of the neuroendocrine regulative mechanisms of adaptogenesis processes.
Background: A high prevalence of chromium and benzene compounds in the environment associated with motor vehicle and industrial operations arouses interest in the study of these xenobiotics in a long-term experiment. The objective of this work was to analyze effects of a chronic combined exposure to chromium and benzene on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) and immune systems of male Wistar rats. Materials and methods: Eighty male Wistar rats were administered potassium dichromate and benzene with drinking water in doses equaling one maximum permissible concentration (MPC) during 135 days. The hypothalamus, pituitary gland, adrenal glands, thymus, and spleen were then studied using morphometric, histological, and electron microscopy methods. The streptavidin-biotin peroxidase method was used to determine the expression of pro-apoptotic protein p53 and anti-apoptotic protein bcl2. We also measured the body, thymus and spleen weights of animals, nucleated cell counts in the thymus, spleen, and bone marrow and evaluated the cellular composition of the spleen and bone marrow as well as spontaneous and concanavalin A-induced secretion of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10 cytokines by splenocytes. Results: We established an adverse effect of the exposure on the HPA function expressed in the activation of its secretory activity, blocking the release of hypothalamic neuropeptides at the level of the neurohypophysis and leading to ultrastructural damage to the neurosecretory cells of the hypothalamus, pituitary adenocytes and adrenal cortical cells, as well as in an increase in the programmed death of thymocytes. We also observed a decrease in the thymus weight and thymocyte counts and a complex of structural and functional changes indicating the status of its accidental involution in the exposed rats. The revealed decrease in the splenocyte count in the experimental group was accompanied by an increase in the size of the white spleen pulp. An increase in the induced production of the main immunoregulatory cytokines IFN-γ and IL-4 by splenocytes was found. Conclusion: Our findings can be used to analyze impairments of the HPA and immune systems in workers with a chronic combined exposure to benzene and chromium compounds in the occupational setting.
Резюме. Цель: выявить взаимосвязи полиморфизмов генов цитокинов IL-1β и IL-6 с особенностями клинического течения хронических вирусных гепатитов В и С у детей. В исследование включено 48 детей в возрасте от 6 до 17 лет (медиана-12 лет), из них 30-с ХГС, 18-с ХГВ. Выявление полиморфизма генов цитокинов-интерлейкина 1β (IL-1β)-T31C, интерлейкина 6 (IL-6)-G174C проводили методом аллельспецифичной полимеразной цепной реакции, детекция продуктов амплификации проводилась с помощью горизонтального электрофореза («Литех», Россия). Больные ХГВ и ХГС характеризовались повышенной частотой генотипов СС гена IL-1β-31 Т/С и СС гена IL-6-174 G/C по сравнению с контролем OR = 3,66 (95% CI-1,2-11,0) и OR = 2,81 (95% CI-1,33-5,87). Полиморфизм IL-6-174 G/C ассоциирован с более высоким синтезом IL-1β у носителей генотипа GG по сравнению с GC (р = 0,016) и СС (р = 0,030). У детей с активным ХГВ и ХГС полиморфизмы IL-1β-31 ТС и СС, а также IL-6-174 СC были связаны с более высоким уровнем цитолиза, а генотипы IL-1β-31 ТТ и IL-6-174 GC и GG-с его отсутствием (р = 0,022; р = 0,038). Наличие полиморфизмов генов IL-1β и IL-6, вероятно, вносит вклад в предрасположенность к развитию хронического гепатита и влияет на характер клинико-иммунологических проявлений болезни.
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