Morphometric assessment of the structural remodeling of endothelial cells in the arterial and venous systems of the testes in experimental animals under ethanol intoxication

Abstract

Objective: Aim: Using morphometric methods to study the features of endotheliocyte remodeling of the arterial and venous beds of the testicles during long-term ethanol intoxication.

Patients and methods: Materials and Methods: Endotheliocytes of the arterial and venous bed of the left and right testes of 60 white male rats, which were divided into two groups, were morphologically studied. The 1 group consisted of 30 intact animals, the 2 - 30 rats, which were daily intragastrically injected with a 30 % ethanol solution at the rate of 2 ml per 100 g of the animal's weight for 28 days. Animals were euthanized by bloodletting under thiopental anesthesia. Histological preparations were made from the testes, which were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, a mixture of acid fuchsin and picric acid, Mallory's mixture, according to Masson, toluidine blue, impregnation with silver nitrate was carried out. The area of the endotheliocyte, its nuclei, the nuclear-cytoplasmic index, and the relative volume of damaged endotheliocytes were determined on the micropreparations of the left and right testes in the arteries and veins. Measurements were performed on vessels of small caliber (outer diameter 26-50 μm). Quantitative values were processed statistically.

Results: Results: It was established that intoxication of white male rats with ethanol led to pronounced remodeling of the endothelial cells of the arterial and venous beds of the left and right testes, which was characterized by a disproportionate decrease in the area of endotheliocytes and their nuclei, a violation of structural cellular homeostasis, and a pronounced increase in the relative volumes of damaged endotheliocytes. Thus, in the arteries of the left testicle, the relative volume of damaged endotheliocytes increased by 17.7 times, in the right - by 14.9 times (p<0.001), in the veins, the indicated morphometric parameters changed by 18.8 and 18.4, respectively times (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Concluions: Conducted studies and obtained results indicate that intoxication of laboratory sexually mature white male rats with ethanol leads to remodeling of the endotheliocytes of the arterial and venous vessels of the testes. Revealed remodeling of endothelial cells of testicular arteries and veins under the influence of ethanol is characterized by unevenness. a disproportionate decrease in the area of endotheliocytes and their nuclei, a change in the relationship between them, disturbances in structural cellular homeostasis, and an increase in the relative volumes of damaged endotheliocytes. The established structural rearrangement of the endotheliocytes of the vascular bed in the conditions of the simulated pathology dominated in the veins and in the left testicle.

Keywords: endothelial cells; morphometry; testes; veins; arteries; ethanol.