Fetal programming by protein malnutrition: morphological analisys, epithelial proliferation/apoptosis balance and expression of ar, ER-alpha, ER-beta of rat ventral prostate

• Grant number: 14/04546-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2014
• End date: April 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biology
• Principal Investigator: Jaqueline de Carvalho Rinaldi
• Grantee: Caroline Nascimento Barquilha
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Intrauterine fetal programming by low protein diet (IFP) impairs growth of rat prostate. Moreover, this kind of fetal programming impairs seric testosterone in adult rat and increases the incidence of proliferative lesions. Recent studies emphasize the role of androgen and estrogen signaling pathways in the initiation and progression of prostate cancer. Thus, the aim of this project is to investigate the impact of fetal programming by low protein diet on genes and proteins involved in prostatic morphogenesis. In this sense, the male offspring that born from rats fed a standard diet (group NP) or low protein diet (RP group) will be sacrificed at 3, 5, 10, 21 and 35 days of age. The ventral prostatic lobes (VP) will be dissected; the epithelial bud will be analyzed collected on postnatal days 3 and 10 and processed for morphological, morphometrical, biochemical and RT-qPCR analyzes. More specifically, it will be performed the count of prostatic budding, immunolocalization of the AR, ERs, ki67 and TUNEL reaction. These results may help to elucidate some mechanisms by which IFP affects the prostate stem cells population and morphogenesis. (AU)