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Aleksej Zavarzin
Dmitry Nasonov
Vladimir Mikhajlov
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Head of the Department new information coming soon In 1932 Aleksej A.Zavarzin - an outstanding histologist-evolutionist of the XX century - founded a department of morphology which united the leading cytologists, embryologists and histologists and became a large scientific morphological center of the country. The department actively developed the theory of parallelism, formulated the law of morphological splitting of structures and substantiated the application of the morphological analogy method for elucidation of general regularities of organization of functions. These fundamental works coupled with investigations of the origin of the cerebral cortex became the basis for the development of the present-day multidisciplinary science - neurobiology. The department has two laboratories On the basis of the A.Zavarzin theory of the evolutionary dynamics of tissues an idea of nonsynaptic system of regulations has been formulated. Unlike fast-acting and exactly addresses synaptic pathways this phylogenetically ancient system of intercellular interrelations ensures embryonic morphogenesis and continues peculiar functioning in the following ontogenesis in close connection with the brain barriers. These data laid the foundation for new ideas on the mechanisms of interactions of the nervous, hormonal and immune systems. The department of morphology has been paying special attention to investigation of cellular and tissue mechanisms of the development of the human brain in ontogenesis. These works are carried out in cooperation with the Oxford (UK) laboratory on studying brain development. A new class of neurons has been revealed in the cortical anlage of the human brain and the first involvement of the cellular elements of olfactory placodes was detected in the formation of neocortex that facilitates the establishment of pathways of its ontogenetic and evolutionary development. The dynamics of main processes of formation of the nervous tissue and parts of the human brain is studied with the model of xenotransplantation. It was found that the intensity of the reaction to a lesion of neuroepitelium of different sections of the developing CNS was different and was dependent on the stage of its development. These findings made a basis for the development of problems of neurotransplantation, its clinical use included. During the recent years the department was investigating the mechanisms of action of unfavorable factors of external and internal media on the developing brain. The models developed in the department allowed the initial stages of the formation of adaptive reactions and various kinds of pathology of CNS to be followed in the prenatal period of the development. After stressing the embryos (hypoxia, radiation effects, immobilization, use of stress mediators and hormones - serotonin and glucocorticoids) departures from the normal formation of the brain and its structural-functional characteristics were observed in the following ontogenesis of animals. During the investigations a number of unknown earlier facts have been obtained concerning the influence of the immune system on histogenesis of the nervous tissue, on the existence of NO-dependent regulation of histogenetical processes, on the involvement of monoamines in formation of a prenatal pathology of CNS, on regulatory role of serotonin in morphogenetic processes. Lower level of serotonin in the prenatal period leads to retarded maturation of different types of the nervous and glial cells of the neocortex. Deficiency of catecholamines at the early postnatal period decreases the functional activity of glutamatergic neurons - the only projectional cells of the cerebral cortex. The department of morphology has been performing investigations of reactions of the nervous and other slowly renewing tissues to effects of ionizing radiation and radio-frequency weak intensive electromagnetic fields. Under study is an unknown earlier phenomenon - the appearance and prolonged preservation in the tissues in question of the state of higher vulnerability and cell death after exposure to weak radiation. A potential menace of radiation in small doses is substantiated as well as the determining role of additional risk factors in its realization. In the department of morphology the bases of new scientific directions are laid which can be determined as histophysiology of the development in norm and against the background of effects of unfavorable factors of environment (ecological histophysiology). |
