Association between salt intake during the perinatal period and the development of maternal obesity

• Grant number: 11/19573-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2012
• End date: December 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Joel Claudio Heimann
• Grantee: Michelle Soto Tresoldi
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Maternal nutrition is very important for both the structural and functional development of the fetus. Studies conducted in our laboratory have shown that sodium restriction during pregnancy and lactation is responsible for functional changes (hemodynamic and hormonal) and structural adulthood of female offspring, such as increasing the mass of brown adipose tissue and lower concentration of plasma leptin, and development of obesity. Complementary to this study, also found that male Wistar rats fed a low sodium diet develop obesity. During the perinatal period, the maternal organism undergoes many physiological adjustments to ensure the proper development and growth of the fetus. The objective of this project is to study Wistar rats three times during the perinatal period (before pregnancy, at birth, and on the last day of lactation) and see if there is the development of obesity in response to dietary sodium intake during pregnancy of manner similar to that observed in male rats. If this phenomenon is confirmed and knowing that offspring of mothers fed dietary salt restriction during the perinatal period develop obesity, this may be indicative of an epigenetic mechanism.(AU)