Morphological changes in the brain in laboratory rats under uranium load

In this work, structural changes in brain cells in white laboratory rats under the influence of radionuclides were studied. White laboratory rats were used in the studies. It is known that ionizing radiation damages DNA, RNA and proteins directly, but more often these molecules are damaged by highly active free radicals, which are formed under the influence of radiation as a result of water radiolysis. Large doses of radiation can cause cell death, while lower doses adversely affect endogenous molecular repair systems, homeostasis, and cell proliferation. Damage to these and other cellular components can lead to progressive tissue hypoplasia, atrophy, and eventually fibrosis. However, it is now clear that cell killing alone cannot explain many tissue responses because these responses also depend on complex events including inflammatory, chronic oxidative and immune responses, as well as vascular and extracellular matrix damage. In general, early reactions, such as skin or gastrointestinal, consist in the destruction of stem/early progenitor cells from which functionally mature tissue cells are derived, as well as in inflammatory reactions. On the other hand, late responses (e. g., in the lungs, kidneys, and brain) involve complex and dynamic interactions between diverse cell types in tissues and organs, and involve infiltrating immune cells, production of cytokines and growth factors, often in persistent cyclic cascades, and chronic oxidative stress.