MOTOR ACTIVITY OF THE CILIARY APPARATUS OF THE CILIATED EPITHELIUM OF THE TRACHEA AND THE UTERINE TUBES AFTER EXPOSURE TO CHRONIC LOW-LEVEL γ-RADIATION
Using a complex technique of intravital microscopic observation, the motor activity of the ciliary apparatus (MACA) in the epithelial lining of the trachea and the uterine tubes and the speed of mucus flow in the trachea were studied in 14 albino female Wistar rats, which were subjected to experimental chronic γ-radiation for a period of 55-70 days (the total radiation doses absorbed equal to 0.05 and 0.5 Gy) and in 10 control animals, which were kept under the conditions of a natural background radiation. Compared to control rats, the irradiated animals demonstrated a significant reduction in the ciliary beat frequency by 12% in the trachea (a total dose of 0.05 Gy) and 14-15% in the uterine tubes (a total dose of 0.05 and 0.5 Gy); meanwhile, the speed of the mucus flow in trachea was decreased by 63% at a dose of 0.05 Gy. No significant differences of MACA were found in the tubal epithelium in the animals that were in the inactive (diestrus) and active periods of the estrous cycle. The data obtained suggest that the study of MACA in the epithelia of the trachea and the uterine tubes in in vivo experiments is an adequate method of the bioindication od the effect of low doses of ionizing radiation on the organism.