Age-Related Changes in the Rat Lacrimal Gland:Impressive Morphology and Enigmatic Natureстатья
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Дата последнего поиска статьи во внешних источниках: 22 апреля 2015 г.
Аннотация:The rat lacrimal apparatus includes several glands; among them, the exorbital lacrimal gland plays
the central role. Its parenchyma and stroma undergo prominent morphologic changes with age. The paren
chymal transformation includes metaplasia of some of its acini and their turning into Harderian glandlike
structures (harderization), accumulation of gland ducts (“ductularization”), and morphologic dysplasia—
cytomegaly, karyomegaly, and cell and nuclear polymorphism in the other part of acini. All these transforma
tions are hormonedependent and sexspecific: they more often appear in males. On the final stages of age
related transformations, the lacrimal gland tissue is morphologically similar to a neoplasm and has neoplastic
morphology but no other features of a tumor. Therefore, the rat lacrimal gland is an interesting object to study
tissue and cell atypia. In the rat glandular stroma, lymphocytic infiltration and fibrosis appear with age; these
changes are similar to processes taking place in human lacrimal apparatus involved in the pathogenesis of
senile dry eye syndrome. The spontaneous changes in the rat lacrimal gland, predominantly in male rats, can
be used as a model of the human lacrimal apparatus disorders.