Puberty as an ontogenetic window: the involvement of the autophagy and aging in renal disturbs induced by a high-fat diet

• Grant number: 22/01907-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2022
• End date: May 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Jose Antonio Rocha Gontijo
• Grantee: Orion Ribeiro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07607-8 - OCRC - Obesity and Comorbidities Research Center, AP.CEPID

Abstract

Nutritional alterations during specific moments in animal life can promote, if long termed, functional and morphological readaptations in tissues and organs, that being able to determine the origin of diseases later in life of these individuals. Puberty is acknowledge as one of these specific moments, known as ontogenetic windows. The high numbers of cases of Obesity between adults and adolescents points to increasing indexes of cardiovascular, metabolic, renal and neuropsychiatric alterations in these populations, characterizing, among others, clinical conditions such as the metabolic syndrome, which affects not only the individual's health, but also involves social aspects, considering the costs that society bears with therapeutic needs and related complications. The kidneys are organs exposed to modifications of the food supply, once that for them to execute their physiological needs they highly consume oxygen and ATP, which can implicate in the production and accumulation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) as inductors of morphological alterations and quick organ senescence. The ROS triggers inflammatory states and induces pro-fibrotic mediators, in addition to interfering in autophagic pathways, accelerating the loss of function processes. Thus, this study objective to evaluate the renal effects of aging, their sex-specific particularities, and their participation in mechanisms involved in autophagic pathways, and the renal functional impairment in C57/BL-6Tg (CAG-RFP-EGFP-LC3) subjected to Obesity induction by a high-fat-diet during puberty. This experimental approach intends to better comprehend the associations between the Obesity onset during puberty and its long-term consequences under the renal function, which would make it possible to envision therapeutic and preventive approaches. (AU)