Evaluation of Intrauterine oestrogenic exposure on the main epithelium-mesenchyme interaction pathways involved in the epithelial budding morphogenesis in Mongolian Gerbil prostrate ventral lobe

• Grant number: 13/26346-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2014
• End date: December 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Histology
• Principal Investigator: Sebastião Roberto Taboga
• Grantee: Juliana dos Santos Maldarine
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The prostate is an accessory reproductive organ present in mammals, and the study of the developmental patterns is particularly relevant to research on the correlations between development and tumor formation, since in this scope there is the possibility of studying the interaction between the paracrine and endocrine signalling influence, whereas it is subject to a high incidence of benign tumors with senescence. The Mongolian gerbil ( Meriones unguiculatus ) is promising for this type of research since the presence of prostate in females is almost ubiquitous, as well as the occurrence of benign tumors in the gland is considerably high compared to that seen in other laboratory rodents. This project aims to evaluate the influence of endocrine dysfunction, particularly of intrauterine exposure to high doses of estradiol on the main factors of paracrine and autocrine signaling that comprise the core of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions that occur during this stage of organogenesis of the ventral lobe prostate, in this case, the budding process, which consists in the initial stage of prostatic development. This study is particularly relevant in view of the increase in industrialized societies to xenoestrogens exposure which mimic the effects of endogenous estrogens, and which have disruptive effects on the prostatic organogenesis process, which has been linked to an increased susceptibility to prostatic origin tumors formation in both men and women.(AU)