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Author: Ailen Alba Colapietro | Email: ailencolapietro@gmail.com
Ailen Alba Colapietro 1°, Jazmín Grillo Balboa 1°, Eleonora Regueira 2°, Gladys Noemí Hermida 2°, Verónica Cantarelli 3°, Marina Ponzio 3°, Silvina Laura Diaz 4°, Marta Cristina Antonelli 1°
1° Laboratorio de Programación Perinatal del Neurodesarrollo. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencias “Prof. E. De Robertis”. Facultad de Medicina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
2° Laboratorio de Biología de Anfibios – Histología Animal. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
3° Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Córdoba, Argentina.
4° Laboratorio de Neurogénesis Experimental. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencias “Prof. E. De Robertis”. Facultad de Medicina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Infant maltreatment is a public health problem that affects a large part of the world population. In Argentina, 7 out of 10 children are subjected to violent discipline methods, including physical and psychological aggression. Early stress generates dysregulation of the stress response system; however, little is known about the impact of infant maltreatment stress on the adrenal glands, end effectors of the hormonal cascade that synthesize glucocorticoids. In this work, we used the scarcity-adversity model (SAM) in rats during postnatal days (PND) 8-12 to induce maternal maltreatment and evaluate histological parameters in the adrenal glands and serum corticosterone levels of Control and SAM offspring of PND 13 and PND 28. The analysis of the adrenocortical zones showed that, compared to the control rats, SAM pups had a greater thickness in the undifferentiated zone at both ages and a lower thickness of the zona fasciculata at PND 13. The cells of the zona fasciculata, which synthesize glucocorticoids, had a smaller cytoplasmic radius and the sinusoids in that zone were thicker in the SAM offspring compared to the Control ones at both ages. PND 13 SAM pups showed higher basal levels of corticosterone compared to controls. These results indicate a histological alteration in the adrenal glands of lactating SAM offspring that persists postweaning up to PND 28. This condition can affect the response of individuals to subsequent stress, compromising their health later in life.