Maternal perinatal undernutrition impairs chromaffin cells proliferation in the postnatal rat

Hormone and Metabolic Research = Hormon- Und Stoffwechselforschung = Hormones Et Métabolisme
O Molendi-CosteChristine Laborie

Abstract

Numerous data show that malnutrition during early life programs chronic diseases in adulthood. Many of these disorders may result from alterations in the development of neuroendocrine systems, such as the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathoadrenal system. We have previously reported that maternal 50% food restriction during late pregnancy and lactation reduces adrenal weight and impairs chromaffin cell differentiation in male rats at weaning. In addition, maternal undernutrition modifies the expression of several genes involved in proliferation and apoptosis. This study therefore investigated the impact of maternal food restriction on adrenal cell growth in the late postnatal rat. Histological analysis showed that the number of proliferating chromaffin cells assessed by nuclear labelling with BrdU was reduced by 45%, whereas the level of apoptosis visualised by caspase-3 immunoreactivity was increased by 340% in adrenal medulla of offspring from undernourished mothers. In contrast, maternal food restriction did not affect proliferation and apoptosis in cortical cells of rats. These developmental changes were associated with overexpression of TGFbeta2. These data show that perinatal undernutrition impairs the bal...Continue Reading

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Apoptosis

Apoptosis is a specific process that leads to programmed cell death through the activation of an evolutionary conserved intracellular pathway leading to pathognomic cellular changes distinct from cellular necrosis