Gestational and lactational maternal protein restriction: consequences on the morphophysiology adrenal glands of senile male rats

• Grant number: 22/15943-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Histology
• Principal Investigator: Luis Antonio Justulin Junior
• Grantee: Vinícius Alexandre de Andrade Felipe
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Several conditions can affect the gestational intrauterine environment, which may lead to issues in offspring development, a concept linked to the OriginDevelopmentalist of Health and Disease (DOHaD). One of the models used within thiscontext is Maternal Protein Restriction (MPR), which leads to a several negative effects on the offspring, including increased blood pressure, effects on hypothalamic neuronsand satiety, unbalanced levels of corticosterone and sex hormones, and data from ourgroup demonstrate increase in the incidence of prostate cancer. The adrenalsplay an essential role in metabolism, regulating catabolic processes, balancehydroelectrolytic and sexual factors. Therefore, the objective is to evaluate the effects of MPR on theadrenal morphophysiology of old rats, postnatal day (PND) 540, emphasizing thesteroidogenesis and cellular stress. For this, male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 2 groups: Rats born to diet fed mothersnormal protein diet (CTR, 17% protein) or low protein diet (GLLP, 6% protein), duringpregnancy and lactation. In DPN 21, the animals were be weaned and consumed feednormoproteica until DPN540, in which they were be euthanized. Adrenals were be collected forperformance of morphological analyses, RT-qPCR and immunostaining for factors ofsteroidogenesis and cellular stress. The expected results are that the RPM changes the parametersof lipid metabolism and steroidogenesis, linked to the impacts on the morphophysiologyof the adrenal glands, which can lead to cellular stress and considerable metabolic alterations not onlyto the gland itself, as well as to other organs and systemically.