Evaluation of development and epigenetic marks of the mammary gland from female offspring of obese male rats that received or not orange juice

• Grant number: 16/24675-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): February 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Science
• Principal Investigator: Thomas Prates Ong
• Grantee: Caroline de Aquino Guerreiro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07914-8 - FoRC - Food Research Center, AP.CEPID

Abstract

Breast cancer represents an important public health problem. In particular, obesity was identified as a major risk factor for cancer. An intriguing hypothesis that has received little attention in the literature considers that father malnutrition might influence the risk of their daughters developing breast cancer. In a PhD project to which this research project is linked, male mice were previously distributed in four groups, control (C), obese (O), control + orange juice (SL-C) and obese + orange juice (SL-O), being males from groups O and SL-O treated with a high-fat diet composed of lard and condensed milk, while males from groups C and SL-C fed with control diet. Animals were crossed with primiparous females that only received a control diet. Female offspring that received only a control diet were induced to mammary carcinogenesis model. Contrary to expectations, paternal obesity appears to have protected female offspring against the development of breast tumors. In addition, consumption of orange juice during paternal obesity seems to have increased the susceptibility of female offspring to breast carcinogenesis. In this context, it becomes necessary to investigate more broadly these results and the potential mechanisms involved. The present research project aims to evaluate the development and epigenetic marks (histone modifications) of the mammary gland from adult female offspring of parents from groups C, O, SL-C and SL-O. For this purpose, morphological techniques (terminal end buds counting, evaluation of epithelial elongation, degree of differentiation and rate of apoptosis of the mammary gland) and immunohistochemistry (assessment of cell proliferation and global histone methylation and acetylation) will be performed. In advance, data to be obtained will enable a better understanding about the influence from paternal experiences, including their feeding and metabolic status, on the risk of breast cancer in their offspring. (AU)