Adrenal gland histopathologic evaluation in the chemical induction of urinary system cancer: experimental model characterization

• Grant number: 12/18053-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2012
• End date: November 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Wilson de Mello Junior
• Grantee: Bruno Martinucci
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The correlation between epigenetic regulation of physiological functions during postnatal development and carcinoma hasn't been elucidated so far. It may be a breakthrough in prophylactic and therapeutic strategies to understand the mechanisms by which the regulation of stress response and other factors related to maternal behavior influence the tumor development. The physiologic functions in rats are directly influenced by differences in maternal care. The ones that receive less care become hyper-responsive to stress due to the epigenetic modulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), the response stress central component. These animals are susceptible to both behavior disorders and metabolic syndrome, with can lead to obesity and cancer in adulthood. The urinary system cancer, especially of the urinary bladder, has a high incidence and its occurrence in more aggressive cases can affect regions that are around the affected organ, such as the adrenal gland. This study aims to evaluate the adrenal gland histopathology in UCh rats that had bladder cancer chemical induction as well as to correlate genetic and epigenetic characteristics related to maternal behavior and its impact on HPA axis development.