Impact of the protein restriction on estrous cycle and sex steroid receptors in the ovaries and uteri of juvenile rats

• Grant number: 18/09243-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2018
• End date: July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Anatomy
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Gustavo de Almeida Chuffa
• Grantee: Diego Augusto de Morais Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In a large part of the population, an inefficient ingestion of proteins, whether for cultural, aesthetic, or economic reasons, represent a global concern. Proteins are the most important molecules for the maintenance of structure and physiological processes of the body. We can suppose that the presence of proteins at higher levels becomes essential for the proper functioning of the cell and the body in general. Therefore, diets with restrictions or hypoproteic diet may have a negative impact during the development and maturation of organs and systems, including the reproductive system. The present study aims to investigate the effect of nutritional protein restriction on the estrous cycle, histopathology and on the levels of sex steroid receptors in the ovaries and uteri of juvenile rats (Fischer 344 model). To achieve this proposal, the following parameters will be evaluated: monitoring of the estrous cycle during the dietary exposure, measurement of the body weight, internal genital organs, food and water consumption, evaluation and characterization of ovary and uterus through histopathological analysis, immunolocalization and quantification of the target receptors (AR: androgen receptor , ER±: estrogen receptor alpha and ER²: estrogen receptor beta), using the Immunohistochemical and Western blot techniques in ovarian and uterine tissue. These results will clarify the effects of protein restriction on the hormone-receptor interface in the genital organs during puberty.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DE MORAIS OLIVEIRA, DIEGO AUGUSTO; LUPI, LUIZ ANTONIO; SILVEIRA, HENRIQUE SPAULONCI; DE ALMEIDA CHUFFA, LUIZ GUSTAVO. Protein restriction during puberty alters nutritional parameters and affects ovarian and uterine histomorphometry in adulthood in rats. International Journal of Experimental Pathology, MAR 2021. (19/00906-6, 18/09243-7)

DE MORAIS OLIVEIRA, DIEGO AUGUSTO; LUPI, LUIZ ANTONIO; SILVEIRA, HENRIQUE SPAULONCI; DE ALMEIDA CHUFFA, LUIZ GUSTAVO. Protein restriction during puberty alters nutritional parameters and affects ovarian and uterine histomorphometry in adulthood in rats. International Journal of Experimental Pathology, v. 102, n. 2, p. 93-104, APR 2021. (18/09243-7, 19/00906-6)