Assessment of the Phagocytic and Microbicidal Capacity of Macrophages in Low Birth Weight Rats Induced by Intrauterine Malnutrition

• Grant number: 24/23135-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - General Pharmacology
• Principal Investigator: Richardt Gama Landgraf
• Grantee: Mayara Eduarda Batista de Pádua
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/02740-6 - Transgenerational study of macrophages in the control of infection in low birth weight rats induced by intrauterine malnutrition and its relationship with the intestinal microbiota., AP.R

Abstract

It has been extensively demonstrated that the failure of the maternal-placental supply to meet the nutritional needs of the fetus leads to a series of fetal adaptations, which can induce permanent changes in body structure and metabolism. Although these adaptations are beneficial in the short term, the permanent changes they cause can predispose the individual to develop diseases in adulthood, such as hypertension, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among others. In previous studies, our group demonstrated that global intrauterine malnutrition led, in 12-week-old Wistar rats, to hypocellularity in the bone marrow and peripheral blood, a reduction in the expression of adhesion molecules, and a decrease in leukocyte migration in these animals. In the same model, we also observed a reduced acute and allergic pulmonary inflammatory response, with lower production of cytokines and lipid mediators, along with high circulating corticosterone levels. Our group also showed, in Wistar rats, that leukotrienes produced during allergic pulmonary inflammation enhance the ability of alveolar macrophages to phagocytize and kill Klebsiella pneumoniae via Fc¿R. The biochemical cellular alterations and basic mechanisms of the inflammatory response in the adulthood of animals that suffered intrauterine malnutrition are poorly studied and understood. Taken together, these data lead us to question whether the phagocytic and microbicidal capacity of alveolar and peritoneal macrophages in animals that experienced intrauterine malnutrition could be impaired, contributing to the establishment of infectious diseases.