Influence of protein malnutrition on proto-oncogene c-Myc expression in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

• Grant number: 11/14098-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2012
• End date: June 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Ambrósio Fock
• Grantee: Stela Almeida Penalva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Protein malnutrition and protein energy-malnutrition are the most frequent type of malnutrition, it is estimated that more than 30% of all world population suffer from some degree of malnutrition, and the primary cause is a reduction in food intake or inappropriate use of energy and protein. Physiologically, in humans after birth, hematopoiesis occurs exclusively in the bone marrow microenvironment, organized structure that regulates the hematopoietic stem cell biology. The hematopoietic tissue and others tissues that have a high rate of cell renewal, require large amounts of nutrients, and in malnutrition situations it can be altered. Data from literature and our group showed that malnutrition compromises hematopoietic and lymphoid organs, modifying the immune response. Knowing that malnourished animals show severe bone marrow hypoplasia and the mesenchymal cells play an important role in the hematopoietic microenvironment process formation generating several modulators that can act synergistically to influence the survival, proliferation and development of hematopoietic cells and the proto-oncogene c-Myc plays a pivotal role in regulating the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of cells involved in the bone marrow microenvironments formation, so the principal objective of this project is evaluate the c-Myc expression in mesenchymal cell from bone marrow in a model of protein-energy malnutrition. (AU)