Assessment of changes in the gene expression profile of salivary glands in pre and post menopausal women

• Grant number: 24/14200-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: January 20, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Human and Medical Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Kátia Cândido Carvalho
• Grantee: Mirian Lopes Cavalcante
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This scientific initiation project seeks to elucidate the effects of the decrease in estrogen during menopause in relation to the salivary glands and analyze the genes associated with excessive salivation and inflammation, given the scarcity of data to understand the mechanisms involved in the development of xerostomia in women in menopause. pre and post menopause and the need for new analyses. For this, the methods used will be: selection of patients in the menopausal and post-menopausal transition using or not using hormonal therapy, collection of salivary gland samples, RNA extraction, gene expression profile to assess involvement in inflammation and excessive salivation. The project has the potential to contribute to the understanding of the genetic mechanisms surrounding senescent salivary glands and to check the influence of inflammatory cells associated with xerostomia, enabling an association of these results with the clinical and pathological manifestations reported by menopausal women. Furthermore, advances are expected following research in the development of targeted therapy focused on identified genes in order to reduce xerostomia in affected women and provide better quality of life, in addition to expanding the scientific community's knowledge on the subject. This project is part of the grant 2022/12807-5 that will support the experiments and publications.