HYPOXIA-INDUCED APOPTOSIS IN THE TISSUES OF EYEBALL

Abstract

The article provides information about the study of the effects of acute hypoxic hypoxia and acute hypobaric hypoxia on eye tissue cells in rats. In each experiment with acute hypoxic hypoxia and acute hypobaric hypoxia (24 eyes in each experiment, 48 eyes in total), 16 male Wistar rats (8 animals in each group, 24 rats in total) were used and divided into 3 groups: Group I - intact control, group II - 1 hour after hypoxia, group III - 3 hours after hypoxia. Identification of apoptotic cells in the eye's tissues was performed by the TUNEL method on frozen eye sections with additional staining with nuclear fluorescent dye Hoechst 33342. The localisation and intensity of fluorescent emission in damaged cells were analysed under a fluorescent microscope using Image J software. When exposed to acute hypobaric hypoxia, selective primary apoptotic damage to the conjunctiva cells and the cornea's anterior epithelium was found. But under conditions of simulated acute hypoxic hypoxia, apoptotic damage to the conjunctiva, corneal epithelium, choroid and photoreceptor layer of the retina was observed. Cells of different parts of the eye of adult rats are characterised by different sensitivity to apoptotic damage in acute hypoxia modelled in this study.