Glucose tolerance profile of rats during and after lactation in the experimental model of gestational diabetes

• Grant number: 22/03616-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2022
• End date: June 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Ana Carolina Inhasz Kiss
• Grantee: Milena Silva Agostini
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a metabolic disorder that may lead to a number of short and long-term complications to the mother and their offspring. GDM is diagnosed by an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Even though several studies in the literature indicate an increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes and also for the recurrence of GDM in subsequent pregnancies, pregnant women diagnosed with GDM usually do not undergo blood glucose monitoring during the postpartum period. To better understand the pathophysiological mechanisms by which GDM affects the maternal organism, several experimental models have been developed. Studies on how maternal blood glucose evolves in the postpartum period are lacking in the literature. Thus, our aim is to evaluate glucose tolerance during lactation and post-weaning in the experimental model of gestational diabetes. To achieve this goal, a model of mild hyperglycemia will be used through streptozotocin administration (STZ - 35mg/kg). A subset of the rats will receive an i.p. STZ injection diluted in citrate buffer on pregnancy day 7 (STZ, n=8), while the remaining females will only receive buffer (Control, n=8). First, an OGTT will be performed during pregnancy to validate the experimental model of gestational diabetes. Then, the OGTT will be repeated in lactation and post-weaning to evaluate the glucose metabolism in these periods. Our hypothesis is that the glucose intolerance established by the experimental model of gestational diabetes will be modified after birth, in the lactation period and after weaning.