ACTA FAC. MED. NAISS. 2004; 21 (2):
89-94|
ACTA FAC. MED. NAISS. 2004; 21 (2):
89-94 |
Original article
HISTOPATHOLOGIC CHANGES AT THE HYPOTHALAMIC NUCLEUS ARCUATUS AND THYROID LEVEL IN RATS TREATED WITH MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE
Snežana Cekić1, Miloš Filipović2, Zorica Jović3, Milkica Nešic1,Gordana Pešić3, Milan Ćirić1, Aleksandar Petrović4, Suzana Branković1, Jelena Živanov5, Mirjana Radenković1
1 Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine Niš
2 Centre for Pulmonary Diseases
3 Institute of Pharmacology,
Faculty of Medicine Niš
4 Institute of Histology,
Faculty of Medicine Niš
5 Institute of Biology, Faculty
of Medicine Niš
SUMMARY
The aim of this paper was to investigate the impact of neurotoxic
monosodium glutamate (MSG) on rat hypothalamic nucleus arcuatus and thyroid
gland. In newborn animals subcutaneous MSG injections induce lesions at the
hypothalamic nucleus arcuatus level and induce hypothalamic-hypophyseal-thyroid
(HPT) axis disturbances as well.
Experimental and control group of
animals included 10 Wistar rats each. In the experimental group animals were
treated with monosodium glutamate (4 mg MSG/g BW) on their 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 day
of postnatal life and they were sacrificed 6 months after MSG treatment.
Paraffin sections of the hypothalamic tissue and thyroid gland were stained with
hematoxylin-eosin (HE).
Macroscopically, the treated animals
demonstrate skeletal development arrest and Cushingoid type of obesity ("buffalo
type"). Histopathologic analysis of nucleus arcuatus in experimental animals
demonstrate significantly reduced number of neurons. Other cells express
degenerative changes in the form of pyknotic nuclei. Thyroid gland in
experimental rats demonstrate thyreocyte atrophy with colloid hypersecretion.
These finding suggest the impaired hypothalamic-hypophyseal-thyroid axis
function in newborn rats treated with monosodium glutamate.
Key words: monosodium glutamate, nucleus arcuatus, thyroid gland