OBJECTIVE: To further study the constitution of the kidney-yang deficiency of Lewis rats by observing the expression and ultrastructure of related genes of hypothalamic kidney-yang deficiency in Lewis rats.
Methods: The Lewis rats were compared with the kidney-yang deficiency model by subcutaneous injection of hydrocortisone, and the TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-10, CRH, MR, and GR mRNA in the hypothalamus of each group of rats were detected. Observation of expression and ultrastructure of hypothalamus and adrenal glands, etc., to study the constitution mechanism of kidney-yang deficiency in Lewis rats.
Results: Compared with normal Wistar rats, the expression of GR and IL-2 mRNA in the hypothalamus of Lewis group rats was significantly increased (P<0.01), while the expression of CRH, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-10 mRNA in the hypothalamus was significantly higher. Decrease (P<0.01); the fascicular zone of the adrenal cortex in Lewis rats is slightly thinner, mitochondria are reduced, and there is slight deformation and swelling; the nucleus of the hypothalamic neuron cells in Lewis rats is large, the nucleus is irregular, and the mitochondria are significantly reduced. The synapses of nerve cells are reduced, and the secretory vesicles of the presynapses are reduced.
Conclusion: There are a certain degree of ultrastructural changes in the hypothalamus and adrenal glands of Lewis rats, and the abnormal expression of immune-related cytokines and CRH mRNA may be related to the imbalance of its own HPA axis.