MATERNAL LOW PROTEIN DIET AFFECTS THE ADRENAL MORPHOPHYSIOLOGY OF POST-WEANING RATS THROUGH CELLULAR STRESS MECHANISMS.

The Developmental Origin of Health and Disease (DOHaD) indicates that unfavorable circumstances during pregnancy and/or lactation can negatively impact offspring health. In this context, exposure low protein diet (LDP) has been associated with a decrease in the number of nephrons, changes in the central nervous system and in the architecture of the liver and pancreas, unbalance of sex hormones, as well as in the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis. The HPA axis is essential for regulating prenatal and postnatal development through steroid hormone secretion, catabolic processes, and hydroelectrolytic balance. Therefore, early life exposure to adverse conditions affecting adrenal development, such as maternal LPD, can affect the offspring`s health.