Ação insulínica no hipotálamo de ratos submetidos à restrição proteica intrauterina e recuperados com dieta à base de soja

Abstract

The Intrauterine malnutrition has been related to the development of several Chronic non-communicable diseases in adult life and the soy food consumption seems benefic for prevention and treatment of those diseases. Studies point out that animals recovered after intrauterine malnutrition present consistent hypothalamic alterations with insulin resistance in this organ. Thus, we analyzed the effects of nutritional recovery with soy-based diet on the insulin signaling pathway in the hypothalamus of animals submitted to protein restriction in intrauterine life and recovered with soy-based diet. Offspring of mothers fed with 17% or 6% protein during pregnancy and lactation were maintained with diet based on caseins (CC and RC) or soybean (CS and RS), from weaning to 90 days of life. The relative consumption was higher in the recovered groups. The final body weight was decreased by the effect of nutritional status (CR and RS) and diet (RS and CS). The animals recovered had lower hypothalamic weight. As for pAkt, the RS group did not differ from the CC, whereas the CS and RC groups had decreased expression in comparison to the CC group, but similar to the RS group. The data from the present study suggest that the soybean meal diet led to a reduction in final and hypothalamic body weight and increased relative consumption in these groups. Soybean meal had no recovery effect on body weight. Recovery and the soybean diet negatively altered the expression of Akt and pAkt.