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In this work the correlation analysis was applied to detect the integrated response of the pineal gland (PG) and immunocompetent organs of male Wistar rats in response to administration of melatonin (MT) in light regime disturbances. Animals were kept for 14 days under natural or continuous light (CL). Then for 7 days they received the injections of either 0.9% solution of sodium chloride or MT, after which the rats were decapitated and the mass of their body, PG, thymus and spleen was determined. The lymphocyte subpopulations of the thymus and spleen were studied by flow cytometry. The amount of lipofuscin in PG was assessed by the intensity of autofluorescence in organ frozen sections in 560-600 nm wavelength range. It was found that under the influence of MT, the number of intraorgan correlations in the immune system increased, regardless of the light regime. In animals on CL treated with MT, the number of interorgan connections was reduced, while negative correlations appeared between PG lipofuscin content and cellular composition of the spleen. The synchronizing and adaptogenic effects of MT were most pronounced under conditions of CL.

The study of the immune system of mice of CBA (n=7) and C57BL/6 (n=7) strains was performed during a 12-hour photoperiod (12:12) and round-the-clock illumination (RI) in December and March. The numbers of CD3+, CD4+8-, CD4-8-, CD4+8+, CD19+, CD3+hi lymphocyte subpopulations in the thymus and spleen, as well as the proliferative activity of thymocytes and splenocytes were measured by flow cytometry. It was found that the most pronounced. interstrain differences in the cellular composition of the thymus were observed in March, while those in the cellular composition of the spleen were detected in December. Overall, in C57BL/6 mice as compared with CBA mice, the number and proliferative activity of the cells of lymphoid organs was increased. In December, the influence of RI on the cellular composition of the thymus was more pronounced in C57BL/6 mice, while the effect on cellular composition of the spleen was greater in CBA nice. In March, after exposure to RI, a number of CD3+, CD19+ and CD4+8-splenocytes was increased in CBA mice, while it was decreased in C57BL/6 mice. In C57BL/6 mice, after exposure to RI, the proliferative activity of thymocytes decreased in winter and increased in spring . Interstrain and seasonal differences in the cellular composition of lymphoid organs in CBA and C57BL/6 mice, with a photoperiod of 12:12 and RI should be taken into account in experimental work with aninials of different genotypes in different seasons of the year.

The objective of this investigation was to determine the complex response of the pineal gland (PG) and of the organs of the immune system in Wistar rats in response to a violation of the illumination regime in the experiment. Animals were kept under natural light regime and continuous illumination for 14 days. After that rats were sacrificed and the mass of the body, PG, gonads, thymus and spleen was measured. Thymus and spleen cell subpopulations were determined by flow cytometry. The lipofuscin content in PG was determined by measuring an autofluorescence intensity in frozen tissue sections in the wavelength range of 505-545 nm using a confocal laser scanning microscope LSM 510 META (Carl Zeiss). The correlation analysis showed an increase in the amount and the change of sign and direction of relations between the indices of the state of PG and the immune system. This indicates the up-regulation of the intensity of inter-system relationships and the change of migration and differentiation vector of immunocompetent cells.

The effects of combined action of the industrial frequency magnetic field (MF) and continuous illumination (CI) on microcirculation, ultrastructural features of liver cells and apoptosis were studied in Wistar rats (n=56). It was found that in the liver of rats exposed to MF, CI and CI+MF for 14 days, parenchyma relative area was reduced, and that occupied by the sinusoidal capillaries was increased together with the liver vascularization coefficient. Combined exposure resulted in most pronounced ultrastructural changes (plasma membrane lysis in hepatocytes and endothelial cells, doubling of osmiophilic layers in tight intercellular junctions). Hepatocytes revealed condensed cytoplasm, mitochondria with electron-dense matrix, nuclear chromatin disintegration and nucleolar compaction. Hepatocyte intranuclear endonucleases were activated.

The aim of this research was to study the morpho-functional organization of liver and some organs of immune system in animals exposed to continous twenty-four-hour illumination (CI) for 14 days. Using the methods of light and electron microscopy and morphometric analysis of histological preparations, liver and regional lymph nodes (hepatic in rats and iliac in mice) were studied. It was found that CI resulted in a state of dyschronosis, which was structurally manifested by the changes of diurnal variations of morphometric parameters of liver and its draining lymph nodes, disturbances of hemo- and lymphocirculation, destruction of cellular membranes. Response of central and peripheral organs of immune system to CI included the changes of diurnal variations of blast forms and mature lymphocytes, that was also indicative of dyschronosis development.

In this study, the peculiarities of functional morphology of the cells of the immune system are examined under experimental and clinical conditions. Lymphocyte enzymatic spectrum and DNA content are determined, the significance and information value of these parameters are demonstrated under normal conditions and in cases of pathology of immune and lymphatic system. The circadian organization of the immune system is detected, and the dependence of morpho-functional state of the immune system on the structure of its circadian organization is shown. These data have found an application for clinical purposes. They contributed to the development of effective methods of diagnosis, prognosis and correction of dysfunctions of the immune system.