Evaluation of apoptosis in rat kidney after treatment with aldosterone

• Grant number: 14/13314-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2014
• End date: March 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Deise Carla Almeida Leite Dellova
• Grantee: Fernanda Nastri Gouvêa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Aldosterone is a most important mineralocorticoid of the body, however has attracted attention due to its involvement in the progression of renal injury. Some studies have correlated the increase in circulating levels of this hormone to the appearance of injuries in the kidney tissue. Considering that apoptosis is a mechanism involved in the development of renal disease, this study aims to evaluate the aldosterone effect on the induction of apoptosis in renal tissue of rats by TUNEL technique and study participation of aldosterone receptors (MR and GR) in this process. For this, rats, Wistar, will be treated with aldosterone and / or spironolactone or RU 486 (antagonists of MR and GR, respectively) for 21 days. After treatment, with the anesthetized rats the kidneys wil be collected for the preparation of paraffin embedded tissue sections. The TUNEL technique will be performed using a kit for detection of cell death in situ on kidney tissue sections. For each treatment, apoptosis will be quantified from the view of TUNEL positive cells, with the aid of a fluorescence microscope, and the result will be presented as the percentage of cells positive for apoptosis. Elucidation of the exact role of aldosterone, in relation to the induction of apoptosis, may help in understanding the pathogenesis of renal disease and in the discovery of new forms of treatment.