[Structural changes of the adrenal cortex in experimental genital herpes virus infection]

The reactive changes in the adrenal gland cortex were studied in mature female guinea pigs (n=5) in an experimental model of acute genital herpes virus infection. The methods of light and transmission electron microscopy were used. To confirm the presence of viral antigen in the corticosterocytes (CSC), the methods of immunfluorescence and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry were used. It was shown that at day 7 of an acute process, focal CSC reactive changes appeared in the glomerular zone - at the light microscopic level, CSC had intact nuclei and optically empty cytoplasm, while at the electron microscopic level, these CSC demonstrated the damaged membranous organelles, and various membranous structures which were not found in the normal cells. The aggregates of hypertrophied CSC were found in the fasciculate zone. The changes described were reversible, as they practically disappeared by the onset of spontaneous recovery (day 21 after inoculation). The regeneration of CSC of glomerular and fasciculate zones of the adrenal cortex involves both intracellular and cellular mechanisms.