Estudo do desenvolvimento pós-natal da próstata de ratos sob efeito de altas concentrações de glicose

Abstract

The effects of diabetes in the adult prostate are well known in the literature, but its impact on the prostate of diabetic mothers’ offspring is still poorly studied. Because the prostate has an important post-natal development and diabetic mothers’ offspring tend to have higher glycemia than individuals born to normoglycemic mothers, the objective was to evaluate the influence of high glucose concentrations on prostate development. Prostates of 45 male Wistar rats were used, with cultures performed for 1, 2 and 3 days and divided into three groups: Control - treated with basal medium; Moderate glucose - treated with basal medium plus 126 mg/dL of glucose and High Glucose - treated with 450 mg/dL of glucose. After the cultures, the prostates were included in paraffin or frozen. Histological sections determined the number of prostatic buds and mitotic figures and immunohistochemistry for alpha-smooth muscle actin. The content of p-ERK and MMP-2 was measured by Western blotting. High glucose concentrations discouraged the occurrence of mitoses, thus reducing the number of prostatic buds. Phosphorylation of ERK 1/2 protein was lower after treatment with glucose. Similarly, in the stroma, environments with glucose reduced the content of smooth muscle cells and MMP-2. With these data, we conclude that high concentration glucose reduces an important cell proliferation pathway, ERK1/2, which may be related to reduced bud formation. Furthermore, glucose has an impact on the stromal environment, interfering with muscle cell formation and tissue remodeling, essential for development with the reduction of MMP2. Thus, it is of fundamental importance that the postnatal prostate development occurs in a suitable environment, so that it develops properly and enables the typical performance of the physiological and sexual functions of man.