AIM: The aim of the study was to study the level of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin 4 (IL-4), on a model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in experimental animals under conditions of low mountains and hypobaric hypoxia. METHODS: The study was carried out on 180 male Wistar rats, which were divided into control and experimental groups. The rats of the control group were on a standard diet. NAFLD was modeled by keeping animals on a diet (Ackermann et al., 2005) rich in fructose and fat in conditions of low mountains and hypobaric hypoxia (in a pressure chamber 6000 m above sea level) for 35 and 70 days. Total cholesterol (TC) and lipid spectrum, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were determined in all groups of animals. RESULTS: The activity of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the main group during the rise of animals in the pressure chamber increased statistically significantly on the 35th day in comparison with the low-altitude group by more than 2 times, and on the 70th day of staying at the high-altitude did not have convincing differences from the low-altitude group. The cytokine index (TNF-α/IL-4) of animals in conditions of hypobaric hypoxia on a fructose enriched diet increased by more than 1.5 times after 5 weeks, staying at an altitude for 10 weeks led to a decrease of TNF-α/IL-4 in relation to the low-mountain group, in which the opposite picture was observed - a tendency towards an increase in TNF-α/IL-4. IL-4 and TNF-α _levels were statistically significantly correlated with lipid metabolism disorders. CONCLUSION: NAFLD in animals on a special diet enriched with fructose under conditions of hypobaric hypoxia leads to deeper disturbances in the system of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and the lipid spectrum.

The paper studies the features of orienting-exploratory activity in the conditions of adaptation of the body to pressure chamber hypoxia. White laboratory rats were used in the studies. Simulation of acute hypoxia was carried out in a pressure chamber. In the course of the work, it was found that acute hypoxia leads to inhibition of emotional and motor activity in animals on the 3rd day, depleting energy resources in the nerve cells of the brain of rats. It is known that in the brain, in comparison with the liver and heart, the highest rate of glycolytic reactions is observed, and therefore, within a short time interval, the concentration of lactate in the brain tissue increases significantly. In addition to the accumulation of lactic acid, there is an intensive formation of a number of under oxidized products — reduced pyridine nucleotides, an increase in the content of other organic acids of the Krebs cycle, for example, pyruvic acid. The general acidification of the intracellular environment of neurons is accompanied by a sharp decrease in the activity of cellular enzymes and a violation of their connections with the membrane. Starting from the fourth day, the excitability of neurons responsible for grooming is inhibited, the resistance of the animal organism to acute hypobaric hypoxia increases. The action of low barometric pressure (altitude 6000 meters above sea level) on the fifth and sixth day leads to hypoxic dysfunction of the higher parts of the central nervous system. Thus, the study of the features of the course of bioelectrical processes in the CNS against the background of emerging acute exogenous hypoxic conditions of various origins is of particular importance due to the need to obtain timely and objective information about the severity of functional disorders of brain structures sensitive to hypoxia, as well as to determine the level of their damage.