INFLUENCE OF DARK DEPRIVATION AND CHRONIC ALCOHOL INTOXICATION ON THE LIVER OF RATS.

Summary. Light pollution, which causes melatonin deficiency and disruption of circadian rhythm, is associated with the development of a number of liver pathologies. A significant lack of melatonin against the background of a mismatch in the daily rhythm of vital processes leads to an increase in the susceptibility of the liver to alcohol-induced damage and an increase in the severity of alcoholic illness. The purpose of the study was to study the combined effect of constant lighting and chronic alcohol intoxication (CAI) on the liver structure of rats of both sexes. The study was conducted on 120 male and 80 female outbred Wistar rats at the age of 6 months. The duration of the experiment was 3 weeks. Both chronic alcohol intoxication and dark deprivation cause similar morphological changes in the liver of rats of both sexes, manifested in the development of fatty degeneration, necrosis and increased apoptotic activity of hepatocytes. The combined effect of these factors causes more pronounced changes in the structure of the liver of males, manifested in the development of cirrhotic changes in 13.3% of them, and toxic hepatitis in 20%, while in females signs of alcoholic hepatitis are observed in only 5% of animals. Increased expression of Ki-67 in hepatocytes of males is detected only under the combined action of chronic alcohol intoxication and dark deprivation, while in females an increase in expression is observed both under the separate and combined action of these factors. The data obtained allow us to conclude that liver adaptation to the separate and combined effects of CAI and dark deprivation is more successful in female rats than in males.