Relationship between the maternal diabetes and the sexual development of the male rat offspring / Relação entre o diabete materno e o desenvolvimento sexual da prole masculina de ratos

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

Diabetes melllitus is a group of metabolic disorders of multiple etiology, characterized by defects in the secretion and/or action of insulin. The causes of the disease can be genetic and/or environmental. Diabetes is one of the most common metabolic complications during pregnancy and is associated with an increased risk of maternal and neonatal morbidities. Epidemiological and experimental studies have demonstrated that an abnormal intrauterine environment during fetal life can affect the development, causing impairment of fetal growth and increasing the susceptibility of the offspring to developing chronic diseases in adulthood. The hypothesis of ?fetal programming? suggests that the adaptations that occur during embryonic development in response to an adverse medium provoke permanent alterations in the structure and physiology of the organism. It was already demonstrated that maternal diabetes and experimentally induced hyperglycemia cause abnormalities in fetal growth, which is associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes in adulthood. In this context, the objective of present study was to investigate the consequences of the abnormal intrauterine environment, resulting from maternal diabetes, in the development and reproductive function, at pre-puberty, puberty and during sexual maturity, in the male offspring of rats in which diabetes was experimentally induced before mating. Seventy-four Wistar rats 90- days old were utilized, divided into two experimental groups: diabetic group (n=59) that received intravenously streptozotocin 40mg/kg body weight and control group (n=17) that received intravenously citrate buffer (0.1M; pH 6.5) in the same experimental conditions. Seven days after the induction the glicemia was measured and only rats presenting concentrations of 200 mg/dl or higher were considered severely diabetic and included in the study (n=55). All the females were killed after offspring weaning. The male offspring were evaluated in different phases of sexual maturation for sperm parameters and hormonal levels. The gestational outcome was impaired in the rats of the diabetic group. Independently of the experimental group, there were no external malformations in the viable newborns. Body weight and plasma glucose levels, evaluated on the third postnatal day, were lower in the male offspring of diabetic dams, compared to control. The times (days) of testicular descent and preputial separation were significantly delayed in the pups of diabetic dams. In all the ages evaluated there were no significant statistical differences in testosterone levels, glycemia, histology of the testis and epididimys and maturation degree of the germinal epithelium. Moreover, in adult rats no alterations were observed in sperm morphology, number of Sertoli cells and dynamics of the spermatogenic process. On the other hand, the weights of reproductive organs, as well as sperm reserves and sperm transit time in the epididymis were impaired in the prepubertal and adult rats, in an androgenindependent manner. Taken together, the findings obtained showed that the hyperglycemic intrauterine environment, caused by maternal diabetes, impaired fetal development, and provoked alterations in the metabolic and reproductive functions of the male offspring throughout sexual development

ASSUNTO(S)

sexual development desenvolvimento sexual reprodução diabetes na gravidez rato diabetes in pregnancy rats reproduction

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