Blood glucose level in rats with different behavioral activity in the dynamics of repeated stress exposures

Abstract

Aim. To study the effect of repeated stress on blood glucose level in rats with various behavioral characteristics and with different resistance to the development of adverse consequences of negative emotiogenic exposures. Materials and Methods. The animals were initially subjected to open field test to calculate the index of activity. Daily 4-h immobilization of rats in individual plastic cages for 8 days was used as a model of stress. Blood glucose concentration was measured with a glucometer (control measurement and on the 1st, 3rd and 8th days of repeated stress). Results. The basal level of glucose in behaviorally active (stress-resistant) rats was lower than in passive (stress-predisposed) specimens. Repeated exposure of rats to stress resulted in development of hyperglycemia. However, the dynamics of blood glucose concentration was different in specimens with different parameters of behavior. The increase in glucose concentration in active animals was most pronounced after a single exposure. By the 3rd and 8th days of stress exposures, glucose level in these rats progressively decreased (as compared to the 1st day), but remained above the basal level. Passive specimens were characterized by the increase in blood glucose concentration after a single and, particularly, after three-time restraint stress. Glucose content in these animals slightly decreased by the 8th day (as compared to the previous periods), but was above the basal level. Conclusion. The dynamics of abnormalities in carbohydrate metabolism (in particular, changes in blood glucose level) during chronic emotiogenic exposures differed in specimens with different resistance to stress factors. These data illustrate the importance of an indivi-dual approach to studying the pathophysiological mechanisms of progression and development of stress-induced disorders.