Evaluation of dioxin exposure associated with high fat diet on the female reproductive system in Wistar rats

• Grant number: 17/24962-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2018
• End date: January 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Toxicology
• Principal Investigator: Carla Dal Bianco Fernandez
• Grantee: Lucas Alves Bormio
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação. Universidade do Sagrado Coração (USC). Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Exposure to dioxins, persistent toxic pollutants in the environment, is associated with a number of human health problems. TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) is one of the most toxic potential dioxins being formed during the process of manufacturing and incinerating chlorine based products. Like other dioxins, it is fat soluble, being easily accumulated in adipose tissue and thus easily accumulated along the food chain. Studies show that TCDD affects the female genital system of rats, leading to histologic changes and reproductive capacity. There is also evidence that TCDD is related to the development of the metabolic syndrome, and obesity is already known in the literature because it affects the reproductive function of females. Thus, the present study aims to study the implications of exposure to TCDD, associated or not to the high fat diet, to the female genital system. For this, Wistar rats will receive TCDD before, after or concurrently with the hypercaloric diet. The experimental design will have a total of 60 days, and in the final 15 days, the evaluation of the estrous cycle will be performed. At the end of the experiment, the animals will be euthanized, all in estrous phase, and the fat deposits will be collected to determine the adiposity index, and the uterus and ovaries, which will be fixed in 10% formaldehyde solution, for subsequent histological evaluations and morphometric. In ovarian sections, in addition to histological evaluations, immunohistochemistry will be done to label estrogen and leptin receptors. (AU)