Atrophy and Neuron Loss: Effects of a Protein-Deficient Diet on Sympathetic Neurons


Autoria(s): GOMES, Silvio Pires; NYENGAARD, Jens Randel; MISAWA, Rubia; GIROTTI, Priscila Azevedo; CASTELUCCI, Patricia; BLAZQUEZ, Francisco Hernandez Javier; MELO, Mariana Pereira de; RIBEIRO, Antonio Augusto Coppi
Contribuinte(s)

UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO

Data(s)

20/10/2012

20/10/2012

2009

Resumo

Protein deficiency is one of the biggest public health problems in the world, accounting for about 30-40% of hospital admissions in developing countries. Nutritional deficiencies lead to alterations in the peripheral nervous system and in the digestive system. Most studies have focused on the effects of protein-deficient diets on the enteric neurons, but not on sympathetic ganglia, which supply extrinsic sympathetic input to the digestive system. Hence, in this study, we investigated whether a protein-restricted diet would affect the quantitative structure of rat coeliac ganglion neurons. Five male Wistar rats (undernourished group) were given a pre- and postnatal hypoproteinic diet receiving 5% casein, whereas the nourished group (n = 5) was fed with 20% casein (normoproteinic diet). Blood tests were carried out on the animals, e.g., glucose, leptin, and triglyceride plasma concentrations. The main structural findings in this study were that a protein-deficient diet (5% casein) caused coeliac ganglion (78%) and coeliac ganglion neurons (24%) to atrophy and led to neuron loss (63%). Therefore, the fall in the total number of coeliac ganglion neurons in protein-restricted rats contrasts strongly with no neuron losses previously described for the enteric neurons of animals subjected to similar protein-restriction diets. Discrepancies between our figures and the data for enteric neurons (using very similar protein-restriction protocols) may be attributable to the counting method used. In light of this, further systematic investigations comparing 2-D and 3-D quantitative methods are warranted to provide even more advanced data on the effects that a protein-deficient diet may exert on sympathetic neurons. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

FAPESP[04-00746-3]

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

CNPQ

CAPES

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Lundbeck Foundation

Lundbeck Foundation

Identificador

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, v.87, n.16, p.3568-3575, 2009

0360-4012

http://producao.usp.br/handle/BDPI/27857

10.1002/jnr.22167

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jnr.22167

Idioma(s)

eng

Publicador

WILEY-LISS

Relação

Journal of Neuroscience Research

Direitos

restrictedAccess

Copyright WILEY-LISS

Palavras-Chave #stereology #malnutrition #coeliac ganglia #neurons #rats #ADULT-RATS #MYENTERIC NEURONS #QUANTITATIVE ASPECTS #SMALL-INTESTINE #DEPRIVATION #UNDERNUTRITION #STEREOLOGY #PLEXUS #MALNUTRITION #SECTIONS #Neurosciences
Tipo

article

original article

publishedVersion