Do malnutrition and fluoxetine neonatal treatment program alterations in heart morphology?
Ana Elisa Toscano1, Marco Antônio Fidalgo Amorim, Edvaldo Vasconcelos de Carvalho Filho
1Departamento de Nutrição/Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Moraes Rego, 1235 - Cidade Universitária, 506770-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.
Insights
Neonatal malnutrition alters heart development in rats, affecting morphology. However, fluoxetine treatment during this critical period appeared to mitigate these detrimental effects on cardiac structure.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Cardiovascular research
- Nutritional science
Background:
- Nutritional status significantly impacts organismal growth and development.
- Vulnerable developmental stages are susceptible to exogenous factors, leading to lasting morphological and functional changes.
- Understanding how early-life nutrition influences organ development is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of neonatal malnutrition and fluoxetine treatment on postnatal heart morphology in Wistar rats.
- To determine if fluoxetine can counteract the cardiac developmental alterations induced by malnutrition.
- To analyze changes in body weight, heart weight, and cardiac cell dimensions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 48 male Wistar rats, divided into nourished and malnourished groups.
- Administered fluoxetine or saline solution during the suckling period.
- Assessed body weight, heart weight, myocardial perfusion, and cardiac cell morphology at postnatal days 30 and 71.
- Histological analysis of cardiac tissue was performed.
Main Results:
- Significant differences were observed in body weight, heart weight, and cardiac cell dimensions between nourished and malnourished groups.
- Malnutrition led to programmed alterations in heart morphology.
- Malnourished animals treated with fluoxetine did not exhibit the same morphological changes as untreated malnourished animals.
Conclusions:
- Neonatal malnutrition can program long-term alterations in heart morphology.
- Fluoxetine treatment during the neonatal period may offer a protective effect against malnutrition-induced cardiac developmental changes.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these findings.
Abstract:
Growth and development events are observed in all organisms and can be modified by exogenous factors such as nutritional changes. Drastic morphological and functional alterations may occur during a vulnerable stage of development. The aim of this study was to investigate if malnutrition and/or fluoxetine neonatal treatment program alterations in heart morphology during the postnatal period. The sample consisted of 48 albino Wistar male rats. The rats were divided into two groups: nourished and malnourished. Pharmacologic manipulation was performed during the suckling period. The animals of each group were divided into two subgroups: saline-nourished and saline-malnourished, treated with sodium chloride solution, and fluoxetine-nourished and fluoxetine-malnourished, treated with fluoxetine. Half of the individuals in each subgroup were weighed and sacrificed on day 30 and the other half on day 71. Myocardial perfusion was performed and the heart subsequently weighed. The ventricles were cross-sectioned into two parts, which were fixed, dehydrated and sectioned. There were differences in body weight, heart weight, cross-sectional area and perimeter of the heart and in the cross-sectional area and perimeter of the cardiac cells among the groups at the different ages. Malnutrition appears to program alterations in heart morphology. However, malnourished animals that had undergone drug treatment did not exhibit the same changes.
