Wolffian duct development, differentiation and vascular pattern of epididymis in Wistar rats exposed to protein restriction during pregnancy and lactation

• Grant number: 16/04085-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2016
• End date: June 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Raquel Fantin Domeniconi
• Grantee: Raquel Fantin Domeniconi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Botucatu
• Associated researchers: Luiz Gustavo de Almeida Chuffa ; Wellerson Rodrigo Scarano

Abstract

The environment plays a crucial role during fetal development and it influences the health of the offspring. Thus, maternal nutritional status plays a crucial role in health and well-being of the fetus. There are some reports of changes in parameters related to epididymal function in adult animals whose mothers were subjected to protein restriction. However, there is no information to clarify how the protein restriction acts along the pre and postnatal development as well as hormones and growth factors modulate these processes. Thus, the aim of this project is to evaluate the impact of maternal protein restriction on epididymis in pre and postnatal development phase to determine whether the functional changes observed in adult animals, are failures in specific pathways related to epididymal development process. The origin of the functional changes in the epididymis may be related to modulation of signaling molecules such as FGF and also the pathways of ERK and Src functions, which are involved in epididymis differentiation and maturation. In addition, development and vascular pattern are essentials for the epididymis properly perform its functions. So, for this study will be used 40 pregnant rats - divided into two groups: Groups normo protein and hypoprotean. Three females of each group will be sacrificed and the will be collected for analysis. The other groups will be formed by animals with 7, 14, 21, 44 and 120 days (N = 10 per group). The epididymis will be dissected, removed and processed according to the histological, immunohistochemistry and Western blotting techniques for androgen and estrogens receptors, Aquaporins 1 and 9, ±-tubulin, pH3 (mitotic factor), FGF1 and 2 (fibroblast growth factor), Src 416 - active and 527 - inactive (regulation of proliferation and epithelial differentiation), NFº² (transcription factor), VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor), claudina1 and Phospho-p44 / 42 MAPK (Erk1 / 2). The results will be analyzed and photographed. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SANTOS, TALITA DE MELLO; CAVARIANI, MARILIA MARTINS; PEREIRA, DHRIELLY NATALIA; SCHIMMING, BRUNO CESAR; DE ALMEIDA CHUFFA, LUIZ GUSTAVO; DOMENICONI, RAQUEL FANTIN. Maternal Protein Restriction Modulates Angiogenesis and AQP9 Expression Leading to a Delay in Postnatal Epididymal Development in Rat. CELLS, v. 8, n. 9, SEP 2019. (16/04085-9, 17/23953-4, 15/18767-1)

CAVARIANI, MARILIA MARTINS; SANTOS, TALITA DE MELLO; PEREIRA, DHRIELLY NATALIA; DE ALMEIDA CHUFFA, LUIZ GUSTAVO; FELIPE PINHEIRO, PATRICIA FERNANDA; SCARANO, WELLERSON RODRIGO; DOMENICONI, RAQUEL FANTIN. Maternal Protein Restriction Differentially Alters the Expression of AQP1, AQP9 and VEGFr-2 in the Epididymis of Rat Offspring. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES, v. 20, n. 3, FEB 1 2019. (16/04085-9, 15/18767-1)

COLONHEZE, FABIO; CAVARIANI, MARILIA MARTINS; SCHIMMING, BRUNO CESAR; SANTOS, TALITA DE MELLO; CHUFFA, LUIZ GUSTAVO DE ALMEIDA; DOMENICONI, RAQUEL FANTIN. Maternal protein restriction affects the differentiation of cells in the epididymal epithelium lining of 44-day-old rats. BIOLOGY OPEN, v. 14, n. 6, p. 7-pg., 2025-06-01. (16/04085-9)