Comparison of morphofunctional features of the ventral hippocampus in adult and old rats after combined stress

Abstract

Animals were exposed to 7 days of combined stress in a special device consisting of six isolated compartments of similar volumes. During the 30-min exposure, the stressors of various modalities, including pulse lighting, heavy sound, and vibration, were presented and stochastically changed every 5 min. This treatment was coincided with restraint and elevated temperature in the compartments. We observed more severe dystrophic lesion and highly expressed inducible nitric oxide synthase in neurons of the pyramidal layer of the CA3 field, signs of impaired blood flow, perivascular edema, and decreased expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in endothelial cells of the microvasculature, and lower expression of serine racemase in neuropil of the radial layer of the CA1 field in the ventral hippocampi after the exposure of 24-month-old rats to combined stress as compared to adult 12-month-old rats.