Effects of maternal malnutrition on colon morphophysiology of male rat offspring

• Grant number: 21/13037-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Histology
• Principal Investigator: Luis Antonio Justulin Junior
• Grantee: Isabela Baptista Leal dos Santos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Epidemiological and experimental studies have shown a higher rate of disease in the adult population of individuals whose mothers were subjected to maternal protein restriction (MPR). Linked to this, several systems in the offspring are affected by MPR, including the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), with emphasis on the colon region. Changes in permeability receptors, inflammatory factors and oxidative stress have already been described in this organ. Thus, adversities during the intrauterine period and early life may increase the risk for diseases in the GIT such as irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory diseases. Therefore, this project aims to investigate the effects of RPM on colonic morphophysiology in rats on postnatal day 21 (PND 21), with emphasis on parameters of the inflammatory profile and oxidative stress. For this, male rats of the Sprague Dawley strain will be used submitted to MPR, divided into two groups: Rats born to mothers fed a normoprotein diet (CTR, 17% protein) or a hypoprotein diet (GLLP, 6%), during pregnancy and lactation. At PND 21, animals will be euthanized. The colons will be collected and used to perform morphological analysis, protein expression (Western blotting) and immunostaining for antioxidant enzyme activity and inflammatory parameters, in addition to the ELISA assay for SOD, CAT and GSH. The expected results are an unbalance in the levels of antioxidant enzymes and cytokines in animals submitted to MPR, which may define a context of, already in the beginning of life, greater susceptibility to the incidence of changes in the colon, which can reverberate in colon diseases of these animals when aging. (AU)