VIABILITY AND TYPES OF DEATH OF BLOOD LEUKOCYTES IN RATS WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME UNDER CONDITIONS OF INTERMITTENT COLD EXPOSURE

Abstract

The aim of our work is to assess the viability and determine the types of death of blood leukocytes in rats with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) under conditions of intermittent cold exposure. The study was performed on 40 immature female rats of the WAG population, aged 27 days, divided into 5 groups of 8 animals each. Group 1 included intact rats. In group 2, rats were subcutaneously injected with 0.2 ml of purified and sterilized olive oil daily for 25 days. In group 3, rats were exposed to periodic cold exposure daily for 25 days. In group 4, dehydroepiandrosterone-induced PCOS was modeled in rats. In group 5, rats were injected with dehydroepiandrosterone against the background of periodic cold exposure. Leukocyte viability and death pathways were determined using a FACS Canto II flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson, USA). Rats with dehydroepiandrosteroneinduced PCOS showed a decrease in the percentage of viable leukocytes and an increase in the percentage of leukocytes in the early stage of apoptosis, while the number of leukocytes in the late stage of apoptosis and necrotic leukocytes did not change. In rats, on the background of the introduction of dehydroepiandrosterone under conditions of intermittent cold exposure, the percentage of viable leukocytes, as well as leukocytes at different stages of apoptosis and necrosis, corresponded to the physiological norm. Thus, the authors revealed a decrease in the viability of neutrophilic leukocytes in the blood of rats with dehydroepiandrosterone-induced PCOS due to the activation of apoptosis processes, as evidenced by an increase in the percentage of leukocytes at the initial stages of apoptosis. Intermittent cold exposure (4 h daily at +4°C for 25 days) against the background of dehydroepiandrosterone administration to rats had an anti-apoptotic effect, normalizing the viability of neutrophilic blood leukocytes.