Effects of maternal obesity on the apoptosis pattern in late cardiogenesis
Keywords:
Obesity, pregnancy, apoptosis, cardiogenesisAbstract
Excessive weight gain during pregnancy contributes to an imbalance in the contribution of nutrients that influences the reprogramming of molecular pathways of organogenesis, increasing the risk of developing congenital anomalies in the heart. O: To determine the effect of maternal obesity on the pattern of apoptosis in late cardiogenesis. M: A model of maternal obesity acquired by snack diet was established in adult Wistar rats. The rats of the obese group and the control group were mated with healthy adult males and were killed on day 16.5 of gestation. The hearts were evaluated macroscopically and processed for the study of cardiac apoptosis using the TUNEL technique. R: 25% of hearts from obese mothers had an increase in the size of atria, ventricles and outflow tract. Apoptosis was lower in the ventricles of fetal hearts from obese mothers vs control (p <0.05). In the right atrium, apoptosis was higher in the fetal hearts of the obese vs control group (p <0.05). Importantly, there was a significant increase in the number of cells in apoptosis present in the interventricular septum of the control group vs the obese group (p ≤0.0001). C: The process of apoptosis was found altered in fetal hearts that were exposed to conditions of maternal obesity.