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Morphological effects of autoclaved diet on the myenteric neurons of rats
Patrícia O Gonçalez, Naianne K Clebis, Renata B Mari, Karina M Gagliardo, Sandra R Stabille, Haroldo G Faria, Edson A Liberti, José Roberto Kfoury Jr
Patrícia O Gonçalez, Karina M Gagliardo, José Roberto Kfoury Jr, Department of Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of São Paulo, 05508-270 São Paulo, Brazil
Naianne K Clebis, Department of Morphology of the Centre of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, 59078-400 Natal, Brazil
Renata B Mari, Department of Biology, Paranaense University, Paranavaí, 87502-210 Paraná, Brazil
Sandra R Stabille, Department of Morphology, Maringá State University, 87020-900 Paraná, Brazil
Haroldo G Faria, Central Vivarium, Maringá State University, 87020-900 Paraná, Brazil
Edson A Liberti, Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, 05508-270 São Paulo, Brazil
Author contributions: Gonçalez PO, Clebis NK, Mari RB contributed equally to this work; Gonçalez PO, Clebis NK, Mari RB, Stabille SR, Faria HG designed research; Gonçalez PO, Clebis NK, Mari RB, Gagliardo KM acquired, analyzed and interpreted the data; Stabille SR, Faria HG lent technical support; Liberti EA critically revised the manuscript; Kfoury Jr JR supervised the study.
Supported by The State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), that partially funded this study
Correspondence to: José Roberto Kfoury Jr, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of São Paulo, Av Prof Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva 87, 05508-270 São Paulo, Brazil. jrobertok@usp.br
Telephone: +55-11-30911308 Fax: +55-11-30911308
Received: February 9, 2011
Revised: April 19, 2011
Accepted: April 26, 2011
Published online: November 21, 2011
AIM: To evaluate the effect of autoclaved diet on the jejunum neurons of the myenteric plexus of rats during their growth.
METHODS: The experimental groups were made up of rats going through weaning whose mothers received either an autoclaved or a non-autoclaved diet during gestation and lactation, and rats that were fed the same diet as their mothers during the post-weaning period. In order to measure the neurons’ body profile and to quantify the number of neurons per area, preparations were stained by the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-diaphorase method.
RESULTS: No significant changes were observed in rats’ body weight or in the number of neurons regardless of the diet used (P > 0.05). There was a decrease in the jejunum-ileum length in rats treated with an autoclaved diet (P < 0.05). An increase in the neuronal cross-sectional area was seen in rats that had received the autoclaved diet, an effect that was significant for animals undergoing weaning. In addition, all observed factors showed significant differences when related to the age of the animals.
CONCLUSION: The autoclaved diet did not alter the quantity of neurons, but increased their cell body area, suggesting changes similar to those observed in protein deficiency.
