Abstract

Background. Chronic exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) may induce persistent tissue hypoxia, oxidative and metabolic disturbances, microcirculatory impairment, and structural remodeling in organs with different functional characteristics. Although the morphological consequences of CO exposure have been investigated in individual organs, comparative assessment of hypoxia-associated remodeling across the lung, kidney, and prostate remains limited. Objective. To comparatively characterize morphological and morphometric alterations in the lung, kidney, and prostate of rats following chronic CO exposure and to evaluate the structural effects of phytocorrection using Gulimahsar infusion and Asparagus officinalis oil. Materials and Methods. Male white rats of different ages were exposed to CO under experimental conditions for one month. Morphological changes were assessed using histological and histochemical methods, while quantitative evaluation was performed using digital morphometric analysis. Immunohistochemical assessment included hypoxia-associated and proliferative markers, with particular attention to HIF-1α in the kidney and prostate and Ki-67 in the lung. Digital histological images were analyzed using QuPath-based morphometric approaches. Correction groups received plant-derived preparations during the experimental period. Results. Chronic CO exposure was associated with organ-specific structural remodeling. In the lung, exposure produced alveolar enlargement, septal alterations, emphysematous changes, and reduction of capillary density, with more pronounced changes in older animals. In the kidney and prostate, chronic CO exposure was associated with dystrophic, inflammatory, and stromal-parenchymal alterations. HIF-1α immunoreactivity increased in the kidney and prostate following CO exposure, indicating activation of a tissue hypoxia-associated response. Phytocorrection was accompanied by partial restoration of tissue architecture, reduction of emphysematous changes in the lung, improvement of renal and prostatic structural parameters, and normalization of immunohistochemical responses. Conclusion. Chronic CO exposure produces a systemic pattern of hypoxia-associated morphological remodeling with distinct organ-specific manifestations in the lung, kidney, and prostate. The observed structural improvement following phytocorrection suggests that plant-derived interventions may attenuate CO-associated tissue injury. Integrated morphometric and immunohistochemical assessment may provide a useful approach for characterizing chronic hypoxic tissue injury.