Chronic dehydration affects hydroelectrolytic equilibrium and adrenal gland morphology in wistar rat: comparison with Gerbillus tarabuli

Abstract

Shortage of water supply is the most stressful condition that can meet man and animals. Since the adrenal gland plays a pivotal role in the stress response, the objective of this work is to study, in the male Wistar rat, the repercussions of chronic dehydration on adrenal gland structure compared to that of a desert rodent: Gerbillus tarabuli. Adults and male Wistar rats and gerbils were divided into: i) control rats (n=8) given free access to tap water); ii) dehydrated rats (n=8) given 2% NaCl solution ad libitum for 7 days and (iii) G.tarabuli (n=6) given barely seeds ad libitum without access to water. Chronic dehydration caused strong adreno-chromaffin cells degranulation in rats. For the gerbils, adrenal zona fasciculate and medulla features suggest respectively an increased production and release of glucocorticoides but a basal stress hormones release. These results suppose that shortage of water in arid environment does not represent a stress factor for this species.

Keywords: adrenal gland; chronic dehydration; plasmatic parameters; histology; Wistar rat; Gerbillus tarabuli