Effects of protein malnutrition during gestation and early postnatal period in hippocampal synaptic pruning of Wistar rats

• Grant number: 21/09043-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2022
• End date: January 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology
• Principal Investigator: José Eduardo Peixoto Santos
• Grantee: Carlos Felipe Romera Lopes
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Protein Malnutrition (PM), characterized by low consumption of essential amino acids, promotes a pro-inflammatory environment in the central nervous system. The microglia are sensitized by various stimuli, including a pro-inflammatory environment in brain tissue, which affects the synaptic pruning process and, thus, the maturation of brain connections. Therefore, this project aims to evaluate the intensity of synaptic pruning and its effect on the number of dendritic spines (DS) in rats submitted to PM during development. Three groups of Wistar rats will be used: normal feeding, maternal PM until birth, and PM until weaning, when then the animals will be euthanized for counting the DS, microglial density, and intensity of the synaptic pruning marker CX3CR1 by immunohistochemistry.(AU)