Structural and Morphological Changes in the Liver Due to Intestinal Endotoxins

Under normal physiological conditions, endotoxin (ET) released during self-renewal of the colibacillus pool is an obligate stimulus for the formation of the immune system and homeostasis of the body. Violation of the barrier function of the intestinal wall and the mechanisms of neutralization of endotoxin lead to systemic endotoxemia of intestinal origin. Its development is facilitated by stress, intoxication, a decrease in nonspecific resistance of the body, as well as damage to the intestinal mucosa and dysbiosis, where the mucous membrane is more vulnerable and permeable to endotoxin.

The aim of this study is to compare and assess the severity and nature of hepatocyte damage from endotoxin exposure and the degree of manifestation of stress due to oxidation, to determine the characteristics of structural changes in hepatocytes and to assess the oxidation stress during endotoxin intoxication in the experiment with biochemical markers.

The experiments were conducted on 40 non-linear rats, divided into two groups of 20 animals. Group 1 animals received intraperitoneal injections of ET of Escherichia coli drug (Sigma USA K-235) for seven days at a rate of 0.1 mg/kg of the body weight. Animals of the second group served as the control group. Character and stage of liver damage were studied using morphological methods, including electron and light microscopy. In studying oxidizing stress, biochemical methods were used to define the changes, such as conjugated dienes and dienketones, spontaneous oxidizing modification of proteins.

1. The severity and depth of morphological changes in the liver during endotoxin intoxication were correlated with the dynamics of the content of lipid oxidation products (CD and DK, MDA) and proteins. There was a tendency for a more significant increase in the oxidative modification of proteins in serum. This confirms the data on the primary damage of proteins by free radicals. 2. When exposed to intestinal microflora endotoxin, pronounced dyscirculatory changes, fatty and hydropic degeneration of hepatocytes with signs of toxic damage to their nuclei were determined, but at the same time, the increased hyperplastic activity of sinusoidal cells remained associated with the effects of endotoxin. These changes are associated with both the direct toxic effect of endotoxin, and the effects of oxidative stress, in which endotoxin is a potent inducer.