Effect of Intrauterine and breast-feeding nicotine exposure on oocytes quality and reproductive capacity of adult rats

• Grant number: 17/06668-4
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2017
• End date: November 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Embryology
• Principal Investigator: Camila Cicconi Paccola
• Grantee: Camila Cicconi Paccola
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: São Paulo
• Associated researchers: Sandra Maria Miraglia Valdeolivas ; Vanessa Vendramini Vilela

Abstract

Nicotine, the main component of cigarettes, is a potent pro-oxidant in biological samples. It is capable of altering the fertility potential of men and women, inducing the occurrence of defects in gametes. In oocytes, it affects the meiosis and maturation. As oocytes are susceptible to oxidative stress, this drug can provoke damage to cellular membrane, to change the oocyte maturation delaying the meiosis and also to induce problems during the chromosome segregation. Besides, it can cause significant increase of DNA fragmentation, affecting the oocyte quality. In addition, as the development of the gonads begins in the intrauterine phase and women are already born with the established oocyte reserve, exposure to drugs during gestation can compromise fertile offspring. Considering the high number of women who smoke during pregnancy and the importance of the events that take place in the embryonic development stage for future offspring fertility, our group has been studying the exposure of rats to nicotine during the intrauterine and lactation phases. In recent work, we found that nicotine exposure changes male germinal cells at different stages of development, increasing the number of spermatozoa with abnormal morphology and the DNA fragmentation index of these gametes in adulthood. Therefore, the objective of this work is to verify the quality of female gametes and the reproductive capacity of rats (F1 generation) exposed to nicotine during the intrauterine and lactation phases, besides evaluating the quality of pre and post implantation embryos (F2 generation) generated from these gametes. (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)

PACCOLA, C. C.; SOUZA, G. S.; FREITAS, I. M. M.; SOUZA, J. C.; MARTINS, L. L.; VENDRAMINI, V.; MIRAGLIA, S. M.. oes maternal exposure to nicotine affect the oocyte quality and reproductive capacity in adult offspring. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, v. 426, SEP 1 2021. (19/08976-3, 17/06668-4)