SUMMARY
Introduction. Desquamative glossitis is an inflammatory and dystrophic affect of mucosa of the tongue, which is most common in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and the hematopoietic system. Desquamative glossitis as an independent pathology is often found, and to diagnose it is not easy.The aim of the study – to learn the changes in the prooxidant-oxidant balance and the structures of the mucosa of the tongue at desquamative glossitis.Research Methods. Biochemical and morphological methods investigated 60 white male rats, which had been divided into 4 groups. The group 1 consisted of 15 experimental animals at the age of 8 months, 2 – 15 rats at the age of 24 months, 3 – 15 animals aged 8 months with desquamative glossitis, 4 – 15 rats at the age of 24 months with desquamative glossitis. Desquamative glossitis was modeled by the creation of burns of the tongue with acetic acid. Two weeks after the beginning of the experiment, euthanasia of experimental animals was performed by bloodletting under conditions of thiopental anesthesia. The pieces of the tongue were cut, which were fixed in a 10 % neutral formalin solution, carried out through increasing concentrations of ethyl alcohol and filled with paraffin. Microscopic sections 5–7 µm thick after de-paraffinization stained hematoxylin-eosin, van Gizon, Mallory, Weigert, toluidine blue. The height of epithelial cells, the diameter of their nuclei, nucleo-cytoplasmic ratios in these cells, and the relative volume of damaged epithelial cells were determined morphometrically. In the homogenates of the mucosa of the tongue of experimental animals, the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase, ceruloplasmin, the content of diene conjugates and active products of thiobarbituric acid was determined. A correlation analysis was carried out between biochemical and morphometrical indices with the definition of correlation coefficient. Quantitative values ??were processed statistically.Results and Discussion. The analysis of the obtained data shows that the processes of lipoperoxidation, antioxidant protection of the body with desquamative glossitis significantly changed. Thus, SOD activity in young animals with simulated pathology was statistically significantly (p<0.001) decreased by 18.3 %, and in older rats – by 25.5 %. The activity of catalase at desquamative glossitis in young animals decreased by 18.2 % (p<0.001), in old rats – by 30.2 %, the activity of ceruloplasmin was 13.8 % and 18.9 %, respectively (p<0.001). The content of diene conjugates under the conditions of the model experiment in young animals was statistically significantly (p<0.001) increased by 87.5 %, and in the older rats 2.9 times, the concentration active products of thiobarbituric acid increased accordingly by 54.5 % (p<0.001) and 1.9 times (p<0.001). Modulated pathology led to the morphological rearrangement of the mucosa of the tongue, which was adequately confirmed by the morphometric parameters of its structures. In young experimental animals, the height of the epithelial cells of the tongue mucosa decreased by 8.0 % (p<0.001), in the 24-month-old rats – by 12.1 % (p<0.001) and the diameter of their nuclea, respectively, by 6.06 % and 8.8 % (p<0.001), nuclear-cytoplasmic ratios in these cells respectively increased by 6.3 % and 7.8 % (p<0.01). At desquamative glossitis, the relative volume of damaged epithelial cells of the tongue mucosa in experimental animals in the younger age group was increased by 12.3 times (p<0.001), and in 24-month-old rats in 13.7 times (p<0.001).Conclusions. The data obtained as a result of the study show that lipoperoxidation and antioxidant protection play an important role in the adaptive-compensatory processes of the tongue with desquamative glossitis. 2. The degree of morphological changes in the tissues of the tongue with desquamative glossitis, lipoperoxidation and antioxidant protection depends on the age of the experimental animals.