Efeitos do estresse crônico na preferência alimentar e morfologia testicular de ratos Wistar adultos

Abstract

Stress directly affects the homeostasis of living organisms and generates various physiological effects in an attempt to restore internal balance. When chronic, it negatively influences cells and tissues, in addition to affecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, altering the distribution of hormones in the body and the response to these stress stimuli. Research suggests that comfort foods are capable of attenuating the stress response, and it is known that in periods of stress there is a greater search by individuals for comfort food. Studies show that testicular morphology and function are impacted by chronic stress. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of chronic stress on the morphology and function of the testes in adult Wistar rats; observe food preferences and their possible implications at the testicular level; and correlate chronic restraint stress with a possible increase in the consumption of highly palatable foods. Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats were used, divided into 4 groups: control with standard diet (C); stress with standard diet (S); control with standard diet + comfort food (C+CF); stress with standard diet + comfort food (S+CF). The animals in the stressed experimental groups were restrained daily in a polyvinyl chloride tube for 2 hours over 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, all animals were euthanized. The testes were collected and fixed for optical microscopy and molecular analysis. Comfort food was preferred over standard chow in groups C+CF and S+CF, but this preference was more preeminent in stressed animals (S+CF). The consumption of comfort food resulted in testicular weight reduction. The seminipherous epithelium was reduced in group S in comparison to controls. While comfort food also reduced the epithelium in C+CF in comparison to controls, for group S+CF the comfort food ameliorated the stress-induced damage. The cell proliferation rate and the relative expression of StAR and BLC2 genes were similar between the groups. Both chronic stress and comfort food consumption resulted in morphological alterations of the testes, and the consumption of comfort foods during chronic stress partially prevented the stress-induced detrimental effects on testes.