PD389 - INTRAUTERINE FOOD RESTRICTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH A PRO-APOPTOTIC HEPATIC GENE EXPRESSION PROFILE IN ADULT LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT RATS

PD389

INTRAUTERINE FOOD RESTRICTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH A PRO-APOPTOTIC HEPATIC GENE EXPRESSION PROFILE IN ADULT LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT RATS

S. Andreotti¹, R. R. Ferreira², G. A. Azevedo², L. R. Giaquinto^2,3, R. G. Landgraf⁴, M. A. Landgraf^3,*

¹Physiology, Universidade de São Paulo, ²Medicine, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, ³Universidade Paulista, Santos, ⁴Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, Brazil

Rationale: Intrauterine undernutrition is known to induce long-lasting metabolic alterations in the offspring. This study investigated whether low birth weight, resulting from maternal food restriction, is associated with changes in the hepatic expression of apoptosis-related genes in adult rats.

Methods: Twelve-week-old male Wistar rats were allocated into two groups: normal birth weight (NBW), born to dams fed ad libitum, and low birth weight (LBW), born to dams subjected to 50% food restriction throughout gestation. Liver weight was recorded, and tissue samples from a hepatic lobe were collected. The expression levels of Caspase-3, Caspase-8, Caspase-9, and BAX were quantified by real-time PCR, normalized to B2M, and analyzed using the 2−ΔΔCt2−ΔΔCt method (CEUA UNIFESP 9816040716).

Results: At 12 weeks of age, LBW rats exhibited body weights comparable to NBW animals; however, liver weight was significantly reduced in the LBW group. Compared to NBW rats, LBW animals showed significantly increased hepatic expression of Caspase-3 (1.664; p=0.0027), Caspase-8 (1.382; p=0.0027), and BAX (1.420; p=0.0056). Caspase-9 expression was modestly elevated in the LBW group (1.153), although this difference did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion: Low birth weight induced by intrauterine nutritional restriction is associated with increased hepatic expression of apoptosis-related genes in adult offspring. These findings suggest a pro-apoptotic molecular profile in the liver and support the hypothesis that fetal undernutrition may increase hepatic vulnerability later in life.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared