Structural and molecular study of the adrenal gland of trauma-induced Rattus norveginus (Berkenhout, 1769)

Trauma is an emotional and physiological response to an overwhelming event such as an accident, sexual violence, or natural disaster; immediately after such an event, shock can overwhelm an individual's ability to cope, and prolonged exposure produces significant physiological disruption in endocrine organs, particularly the adrenal gland (Pai, Suris & North, 2017; Shalev, Cho & Marmar, 2024). This study investigated the structural and molecular characteristics of the adrenal gland following trauma-like induction in Rattus norvegicus. Wistar rats weighing between 100 g and 150 g were divided into three experimental groups: female socially induced trauma, male socially induced trauma, and male physically induced trauma. Each group was further subdivided into four subgroups: trauma only, trauma plus treatment, treatment only, and control. Garlic was administered to the female social group, Cellgevity to the male social group, and Amaranthus cruentus extract to the male physical group. At the conclusion of the experiment, the adrenal glands were harvested, fixed in formal saline, and processed histologically using routine Haematoxylin and Eosin staining. Chromaffin cell counts were determined using Fiji ImageJ software. Behavioural assessments were conducted using the open field test and the Y-maze spontaneous alternation test. The results demonstrated that trauma significantly altered the structural and molecular characteristics of the adrenal gland. Chromaffin cells, the principal catecholamine-secreting cells of the adrenal medulla (Berends et al., 2019), were markedly reduced in trauma-exposed animals compared with controls. These findings indicate that trauma exerts a destructive effect on the structural and functional integrity of the adrenal gland in mammalian models, consistent with reports of phenotype-associated adrenal hypofunction in other rodent models of post-traumatic stress (Tseilikman et al., 2021).