Ultrastructural analysis of the adrenal cortex in rats after bilateral subdiaphragmatic vagotomy

Electron-microscopic investigation of the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex in rats showed that 7 days after bilateral subdiaphragmatic vagotomy the perinuclear space of the adrenocorticocytes and endothelial cells is widened, the tubules of the smooth cytoplasmic reticulum are dilated, the mitochondria edematous, their cristae reduced, and the number and size of the lipid droplets diminished. After 45 days some mitochondria were starting to undergo myelinization, lipid droplets were aggregating, and electron-translucent vacuoles appeared in them. Vagotomy depresses the function of the adrenocorticocytes of the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis of the rat adrenal cortex.Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Internal Medicine, N. I. Pirogov Second Moscow Medical Institute. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR A. P. Avtsyn.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 83, No. 4, pp. 492–494, April, 1977.     

Functional and structural changes in the adrenal cortex of rabbits with chronic prostatitis

Investigation of the state of the adrenal cortex of rabbits during inhibition of the internal secretory activity of the testes caused by chronic inflammation of the prostate gland revealed progressive hyperplasia of the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex, whereas the zona glomerulosa showed no marked pathological changes and the zona fasciculata showed hypoplasia. Consequently, a normal or increased excretion of androgens observed in the experimental males, despite a reduction in the synthesis of testosterone in the testes, is maintained by increased activity of the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex.Laboratory of Physiology and Pathomorphology, Khar'kov Scientific-Research Institute of Endocrinology and Hormone Chemistry. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR L. T. Malaya.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 83, No. 3, pp. 276–277, March, 1977.     

Effect of cholesterol on the state of the adrenal cortex in severe stress

The effect of cholesterol, administered for 14 days, on the response of the adrenal cortex was studied in rats during severe stress. Under these conditions the degree of activation of the gland and the degree of its structural changes were lower than in the control. It is suggested that the action of cholesterol depends on its influence both on the hypothalamus and on the adrenocortical tissues. The latter effect is connected with the action of cholesterol as a substance delaying peroxidation.Department of Histology, Blagoveshchensk Medical Institute. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR V. P. Kaznacheev.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 85, No. 5, pp. 525–528, May, 1978.     

Response of different types of connective tissue to hormones

A comparative study was made of the lysosomal glycosidases of the eye tissues (sclera and cornea) and also of bone tissue and cartilage from rabbits. Intraperitoneal injection of thyrocalcitonin (TCT), deoxycorticosterone (DOC), hydrocortisone (HC), and somatotropic hormone (STH) were shown to modify the activity of -galactosidase, -glucosidase, and hyaluronidase and the functional state of the lysosomal membranes in the tissues. HC and STH stabilize, whereas DOC and large doses of TCT labilize the lysosomal membranes. After injection of HC and STH the absolute activity of the enzymes in the tissue homogenates falls, whereas DOC has the opposite action.Helmholtz Research Institute for Eye Diseases, Moscow. N. N Priorov Central Scientific-Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Moscow. (Presented by Academicial of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR M. V. Volkov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 84, No. 7, pp. 38–41, July, 1977.     

Morphological and functional relations between the thymus and adrenals in inbred mice

A morphological investigation was made of the thymus, adrenals, and spleen of mice belonging to the CBA, C57BL/6, and AKR lines, and the immunologic reactivity of the mice to the sex antigen of a skin graft was studied together with determination of the plasma corticosterone level. A narrower cortical layer in the thymus, wide thymus-dependent zones in the spleen, and a higher corticosterone level were observed in CBA mice than in C57BL/6 and AKR mice, and no reaction was found in the former to sex antigen of the skin graft. Adrenalectomy on CBA mice led to a sharp increase in width of the cortex of the thymus, the appearance of numerous lymphatic follicles in the spleen, and the development of an immunologic reaction to sex antigen of the skin graft. In B mice of the CBA line atrophy of the adrenal cortex was observed, with a sharp decrease in the concentration of sudanophilic lipids.Departments of Pathological Anatomy and Microbiology, Smolensk Medical Institute. (Presented by Academician of Medical Sciences of the USSR N. N. Zhukov-Verezhnikov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 85, No. 5, pp. 591–594, May, 1978.     

Functional state of the hypothalamo-hypophyseo-adrenal system in guinea pigs exposed to radial acceleration

The effect of an increased gravitational field on activity of the hypothalamo-hypophyseo-adrenal system was studied in experiments on guinea pigs. A single exposure led to activation of this system; however, during repeated exposure to radial acceleration the animals ceased to respond by an increase in the blood corticosteroid level, evidently on account of adaptation of the central components of the system and not of exhaustion of the adrenal cortex.Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR S. V. Anichkov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 82, No. 11, pp. 1313–1314, November, 1976.     

Effect of a unilateral cortical lesion on the monoamine content in the cat brain

The serotonin and noradrenalin content in the cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, and mesencephalon was investigated spectrofluorometrically in 12 cats on the 5th–6th day after the production of a pathological focus in the region of the occipital cortex. Diffuse changes of brain activity were recorded on the EEG at this period: spike-like waves and slow waves of increased amplitude. A considerable increase in the serotonin concentration was observed in the cortex, with the effect predominant in the region immediately adjacent to the pathological focus. A tendency for the serotonin level to fall was observed in the hypothalamus and mesencephalon. The noradrenalin concentration in these brain structures showed no significant change. The role of serotoninergic structures of the brain in the mechanisms responsible for restoring the functional state of the brain after experimental injury is discussed.Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR A. M. Chernukh.)Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 80, No. 8, pp. 20–23, August, 1975.     

Effect of light deprivation on binding activity of serotonin with light and heavy synaptosomes from various brain formations

The degree of binding of serotonin (5-HT) with light and heavy synaptosomes in various brain formations of control and visually deprived rabbits was studied by the writer's gel-filtration method. The activity of this process in heavy synaptosomes of control rabbits was equal in the visual cortex and superior colliculus and significantly higher than in the motor cortex. Light synaptosomes of all structures tested were similar in their degree of 5-HT binding. During light deprivation the intensity of this process in the heavy synaptosomes in formations of the visual system fell by 74–81%, whereas in the same synaptosomes of the motor cortex it fell by 31%. The decrease in 5-HT binding in the light synaptosomes of all formations tested was equal, mainly by about 73% of normal. The results are discussed in the light of the possible mediator or modulating role of 5-HT in formations of the visual system.Laboratory of Biohistochemistry, Brain Institute, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR S. S. Debov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 84, No. 9, pp. 299–301, September, 1977.     

Effect of stress on the reticular zone of the adrenal cortex

The reticular zone (RZ) of the adrenal cortex is shown to be involved in the formation of the organism's response to stress. A new scheme of physiological regulation of RZ is presented. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 118, N ^o 7, pp. 8–10, July, 1994 Presented by V. A. Trufakin, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences     

Tissue reorganization of rat adrenal cortex induced by hypoxia and its correction with nandrolone

Acute hypoxia has a pronounced catabolic effect, whereas repeated hypoxic episodes promote hypertrophy of the adrenal cortex. Steroid hyperproduction caused by stress reaction after single hypoxic episode persists after repeated hypoxic episodes. The relations between vessels and parenchyma play the key role in spatial reorganization of the adrenal cortex. Increased volume and surface-volume ratios between sinusoids and adrenocorticocytes point to the enhancement of transcapillary exchange and can be regarded as an adaptive compensatory reaction on the tissue level. Nandrolone decreases antianabolic and stress effects of hypoxia, thus potentiating compensatory adaptive reactions both after single and repeated hypoxic episodes. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 128, No. 7, pp. 109–114, July, 1999