The deleterious effects of maternal protein deprivation on the brainstem are minimized with moderate physical activity by offspring during early life.

Maternal protein malnutrition during developmental periods might impair the redox state and the brain's excitatory/inhibitory neural network, increasing central sympathetic tone. Conversely, moderate physical exercise at an early age reduces the risk of chronic diseases. Thus, we hypothesized that a moderate training protocol could reduce the harmful effects of a low-protein maternal diet on the brainstem of young male offspring.

Undernutrition during development modulates endoplasmic reticulum stress genes in the hippocampus of juvenile rats: Involvement of oxidative stress.

To evaluate whether exercise training mitigates the deleterious effects of undernutrition during the developmental period in juvenile Wistar rats. Pregnant Wistar rats were fed with a diet containing 17 % or 8 % casein during pregnancy and lactation. At 30 days of life, male offspring were divided into 4 groups: Low-Protein non-trained (LS), Low-Protein Trained (LT), Normoprotein non-trained (NS), and Normoprotein Trained (NT).

Maternal safflower oil consumption improve reflex maturation, memory and reduces hippocampal oxidative stress in the offspring rats treated during pregnancy and lactation.

Objective: Evaluate the influence of maternal consumption of safflower oil on reflex maturation, memory and offspring hippocampal oxidative stress.

Methodology: Two groups were formed: control group (C), whose mothers received a standard diet, and Safflower group (SF), whose mothers received a normolipidic diet with safflower oil as lipid source. Treatment was given from the 14th day of gestation and throughout lactation.

Fluoxetine administration in juvenile overfed rats improves hypothalamic mitochondrial respiration and REDOX status and induces mitochondrial biogenesis transcriptional expression.

Nutritional imbalance in early life may disrupt the hypothalamic control of energy homeostasis and increase the risk of metabolic disease. The hypothalamic serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) system based in the hypothalamus plays an important role in the homeostatic control of energy balance, however the mechanisms underlying the regulation of energy metabolism by 5-HT remain poorly described. Several crucial mitochondrial functions are altered by mitochondrial stress.

Chronic serotonin reuptake inhibition uncouples brown fat mitochondria and induces beiging/browning process of white fat in overfed rats.

Aim: To investigate whether a chronic 5-HT reuptake inhibitor (i.e. Fluoxetine-FLX) exposure in young adult rats overfed during suckling period would modulate interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT) mitochondria and browning agents in white adipose tissue (WAT).

Body composition, biochemical, behavioral and molecular alterations in overfed rats after chronic exposure to SSRI.

Serotonin (5-HT) plays a regulatory role in coordinating the neural circuits regulating energy balance, with differences in both 5-HT availability at the synapse and the activity of 5-HT receptors mediating anorectic (via POMC/CART activation) and orexigenic (via NPY/AgRP activation) responses. In conditions of overweight and obesity the control of energy balance is clearly deregulated, and serotonergic modulation appears to make a significant contribution to weight gain. Fluoxetine (FLX), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that increases 5-HT availability in the synaptic cleft may thus have potential effects on energy balance.

A maternal low-protein diet and neonatal overnutrition result in similar changes to glomerular morphology and renal cortical oxidative stress measures in male Wistar rats.

There is a strong correlation between inadequate gestational and postpartum nutrition and the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. The present study investigated the effects of a maternal low-protein diet and neonatal overfeeding on the oxidative balance and morphology of the renal cortex of male Wistar rats. Two independent protocols were used.

Serotonin transporter inhibition during neonatal period induces sex-dependent effects on mitochondrial bioenergetics in the rat brainstem.

The serotonin reuptake is mainly regulated by the serotonin transporters (SERTs), which are abundantly found in the raphe nuclei, located in the brainstem. Previous studies have shown that dysfunction in the SERT has been associated with several disorders, including depression and cardiovascular diseases. In this manuscript, we aimed to investigate how gender and the treatment with a serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) could affect mitochondrial bioenergetics and oxidative stress in the brainstem of male and female rats.

Neonatal SSRI exposure improves mitochondrial function and antioxidant defense in rat heart.

Protein restriction during prenatal, postnatal, or in both periods has a close relationship with subsequent development of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Elevated brain levels of serotonin and its metabolites have been found in malnourished states. The aim in the present study was to investigate whether treatment with fluoxetine (Fx), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, mimics the detrimental effect of low-protein diet during the perinatal period on the male rat heart.

Serotonin modulation in neonatal age does not impair cardiovascular physiology in adult female rats: Hemodynamics and oxidative stress analysis.

Aims: The present study investigates the effects of neonatal serotonin modulation in female rats on cardiac parameters related to hemodynamics and oxidative metabolism in the mature animal.

Main Methods: Female Wistar rat pups were administered daily subcutaneous injections of fluoxetine (Fx-treated group) or vehicle solution (Ct-group) from the 1st to 21st day of life. At 60days of age, animals from both groups were either used for cardiovascular evaluation or sacrificed for tissue collection for biochemical assays.

Effect of moderate exercise on peritoneal neutrophils from juvenile rats.

Previous studies showed that moderate exercise in adult rats enhances neutrophil function, although no studies were performed in juvenile rats. We evaluated the effects of moderate exercise on the neutrophil function in juvenile rats. Viability and neutrophils function were evaluated.

Effect of fluoxetine treatment on mitochondrial bioenergetics in central and peripheral rat tissues.

Recent investigations have focused on the mitochondrion as a direct drug target in the treatment of metabolic diseases (obesity, metabolic syndrome). Relatively few studies, however, have explicitly investigated whether drug therapies aimed at changing behavior by altering central nervous system (CNS) function affect mitochondrial bioenergetics, and none has explored their effect during early neonatal development. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of chronic treatment of newborn male rats with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine on the mitochondrial bioenergetics of the hypothalamus and skeletal muscle during the critical nursing period of development.

The effect of maternal low-protein diet on the heart of adult offspring: role of mitochondria and oxidative stress.

Protein restriction during perinatal and early postnatal development is associated with a greater incidence of disease in the adult, such arterial hypertension. The aim in the present study was to investigate the effect of maternal low-protein diet on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation capacity, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, antioxidant levels (enzymatic and nonenzymatic), and oxidative stress levels on the heart of the adult offspring. Pregnant Wistar rats received either 17% casein (normal protein, NP) or 8% casein (low protein, LP) throughout pregnancy and lactation.