Dentate gyrus changes in an Alzheimer-induced model in adult male albino rats and the possible protection by ginger: Histological and immunohistochemical study

Alzheimer's disease [AD] is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, and its incidence is increasing markedly worldwide. It causes progressive cognitive decline and is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. It has been proven that prolonged aluminum exposure induces Alzheimer-like histopathological changes and hence aluminum was used experimentally to produce an animal model of AD. Ginger has been shown to inhibit and even reverse the deposition of amyloid plaques, which are considered one of the hallmarks of AD. The present study was carried out to determine the histological changes in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus in an Alzheimer-induced model and investigate the possible ameliorating effect of ginger. Twenty-one adult male albino rats were divided equally into three groups: the control group; the Alzheimer-induced model group, which received aluminum chloride [300 mg/kg/day orally] for 1 month; and the ginger-treated group, which received ginger [200 mg/kg/day orally] concomitant with aluminum chloride at the same dose and for the same period as that of the previous group. Temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex were processed with H and E, toluidine blue, silver, and Congo red stains. In addition, inducible nitric oxide synthase expression was assayed by immunohistochemistry. Chronic administration of aluminum chloride induced Alzheimer-like changes in the dentate gyrus, such as distortion of the granular cell layer, increased number of immature neurons, and disturbed arrangement and reduction in the number of pyramidal cells, which appeared with darkly stained pyknotic nuclei. Fine argentophilic neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques were detected, in addition to increased intensity of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in the granular cell layer. Ginger administration ameliorated the previous histological changes. The findings proved that chronic administration of ginger significantly improved the neurodegenerative changes induced in the Alzheimer model. Hence, it is advisable to drink ginger juice, especially the elderly, who are more susceptible to AD

Histological and immunohistochemical study of apoptosis in granulosa cells of atretic ovarian follicles of adult albino rat

It is well known that during ovarian follicular development, the majority of follicles undergo atresia at various stages of their development. Recent studies have reported that the degenerative changes associated with atresia appear initially in the granulosa cell layer, and follicular atresia occurs by apoptosis, which is an essential physiological process. The present study aimed to examine granulosa cell apoptosis using different, histological, immunohistochemical, and biochemical methods. Fifteen adult female albino rats were used in this study. The rats were sacrificed and bilateral oophorectomy was carried out; the ovaries of rats were processed and paraffin sections were prepared for staining with H and E and also to study immunohistochemistry for apoptotic proteins such as caspase-3 and antiapoptotic proteins such as B-cell lymphoma-2 [Bcl-2]. Some ovarian specimens were processed by electrophoresis for DNA separation. Apoptosis in granulosa cell showed morphological characteristics, including nuclei with marginated chromatin, a single condensed pyknotic nucleus, multiple nuclear fragments, and apoptotic bodies containing variable amounts of chromatin. Moreover, apoptotic changes were detected by immunohistochemical staining in the form of increased staining intensity to caspase-3 [apoptotic protein] and decreased staining intensity to Bcl-2 [antiapoptotic protein], and also increased fragmentation of DNA, which was indicated by a ladder step appearance that was detected using DNA electrophoresis

Protective role of quercetin [phytochemical] against water avoidance stress induced interstitial cystitis of adult female albino rats light and electron microscopic study

Interstitial cystitis [IC] is a chronic inflammatory condition of the urinary bladder, its cause is unknown. It is believed not to be caused by bacteria and does not respond to antibiotic therapy, it has been proved to be caused by stress. It affect people of any race, age and sex, more women than men suffer from this condition. Oral therapy utilizing quercetin [naturally occurring compound widely distributed in the plant kingdom specially in apple, onion, tea and berries] recently proved to be clinically effective in relieving the symptoms of this disease. This research aimed to study the protective effect of quercetin on the urinary bladder mucosa of the experimentally induced IC in rats by exposing them to water avoidance stress [WAS] which has been shown to induce IC. 32 adult female albino rats were divided into four groups [8 animals each]. Animals of group I were exposed to WAS 2 h daily for 5 days. In group II, 50 mg/kg quercetin was given orally to the animals before exposing them to WAS. Animals of group III were given the same dose of quercetin without exposing them to WAS. Animals of group IV were served as control animals. At the end of the experiment, urinary bladder samples were taken and prepared to be examined by light, transmission and scanning electron microscopes. In group I, urothelium showed ulcerated areas, vacuoles formation, degenerated mitochondria and dilatation in the intercellular spaces were observed. Lamina propria showed dilated blood vessels and interstitial mononuclear inflammatory cell, increased number of mast cells in the mucosa was also observed. In group II, relatively normal urothelial topography, regular tight junctions and a few number of mast cells in the mucosa was observed. The results of the present study demonstrated that, quercetin has protective effects on IC which induced by stress, as the morphology changes which induced in bladder mucosa were all improved by quercetin utilization