Dietary Protein Restriction Of Pregnant Mouse And Susceptibility To The Development Of Chemically-Induced Esophageal And Liver Cancer
Alda SAMPAIO, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro-UERJ, Brazil
BLANCO T. 2
,
LIMA S. 2
,
PINTO L. 2,3
1 Instituto de Nutrição-Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro-UERJ
2 Programa de Carcinogênese Molecular-CPQ- Instituto Nacional de Câncer-INCA
3 Departamento de Bioquímica-Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro-UERJ
Purpose: The developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis suggests an association between mammalian prenatal environmental exposure, including maternal diet, and subsequent risk of developing non communicable chronic disease, such as metabolic syndrome and obesity in adulthood. However, the relation between this hypothesis and cancer is still sparse in the literature. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of low protein maternal diet on the susceptibility of developing chemically-induced esophageal and liver cancer in mouse offspring. Methods: Dams were fed a control protein diet (CPD - 17% protein) or a restricted protein diet (RPD - 8% protein) throughout pregnancy. All pups received standard diet after weaning. Both offsprings, from CPD and RPD dams, were divided in groups that received the carcinogen N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA, 40 ppm) in the drinking water or pure water. After different periods of time, the animals were euthanized and the esophagus and liver were collected for histopathological analyses by hematoxilin-eosin examination. Results: Esophagus and livers from all animals that didn't receive the carcinogen presented normal morphology. Animals treated with NDEA for 2 months showed a mild inflammation in the esophagus, independently of maternal diet or gender. In the liver, tubule-glandular lesions were observed in all females, while only 20% of the males showed a similar profile. After 4 months of treatment, 40% of the males presented tumors in the esophagus, independently of the maternal diet, and 20% of the females only from RPD dams showed similar lesions. On the other hand, livers from all animals showed atypical morphological alterations. Conclusions: Low protein diet during pregnancy doesn't seem to affect the susceptibility of developing esophageal and liver tumors induced by NDEA in the adult offspring. Funding source: Ministério da Saúde, FAPERJ and CNPq.