Effects of taurine treatment on the function of uterine arteries in pregnant Wistar rats carrying Walker 256 tumor

• Grant number: 24/03039-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: January 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Ana Paula Couto Davel
• Grantee: Israelle Netto Freitas
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/08931-0 - Cancer and pregnancy: proteomic, transcriptomic and metabolic alterations in placenta from pregnant women with cancer and Wistar pregnant Walker 256 tumour-bearing rats, AP.JP

Abstract

The blood flow of the maternal uterine artery is a critical factor for the preservation of the intrauterine environment, allowing the normal function of the placenta for fetal growth and development. It is also responsible for the oxygen supplied to the fetal placental unit. Diagnosing cancer during pregnancy represents a major challenge, as maternal and fetal/neonatal health needs to be considered. Both the presence of tumors and chemotherapy treatment can have harmful effects on blood vessels. However, little is known about changes in the uterine artery and their impact on pregnancy simultaneously with cancer. Taurine is an amino acid with vasodilatory and antihypertensive actions, which could help minimize the adverse vascular effects resulting from chemotherapy treatments. In humans, there is a negative correlation between plasma taurine concentration and cancer severity. Therefore, we hypothesized that taurine supplementation would have a beneficial effect on the function and structure of the uterine artery in the context of gestational cancer and chemotherapy treatment. Our aim is to identify possible functional and morphological changes in the uterine arteries of Walker 256 tumor-bearing rats (a model of mammary adenocarcinoma), treated or not with the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin and supplemented with taurine. Thus, the following experimental groups will be 1) healthy pregnant rats (Control group); 2) pregnant rats with the tumor (Cancer group); 3) pregnant rats with tumor and chemotherapy treatment (Cancer + Chemo group); 4) pregnant rats with tumor and chemotherapy treatment associated with taurine supplementation (Cancer + Chemo + Tau group). The uterine artery will be collected for vascular reactivity, histological evaluation and qRT-PCR to evaluate the gene expression of factors involved in the local and humoral control of uterine blood flow. With this project, it is expected to advance knowledge of the role of the uterine artery in gestational health in response to chemotherapy, as well as the therapeutic potential of taurine in this context.