Efeito da associação do tratamento de prednisona e enriquecimento ambiental em biomarcadores metabólicos de ratos Wistar

Abstract

Prednisone is a potent glucocorticoid widely used by the population, however its strong use and time exposure of treatment may cause adverse health effects for those who use it without medical indication. In addition, the investigation of different treatment times of prednisone (PRED) at a dose of 5mg and its influence on the emergence of adverse effects was a factor questioned by this study, and could be influenced by the enriched environment (EE), which is presented in two parts: to verify if prednisone can interfere with the metabolic biomarkers at different times of treatment (Chapter 1) and if the EE influences the immunometabolic profiles by prednisone treatment (Chapter 2). In Chapter 1 Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups (n=8 rats per group): P7, P14, P28 and P56, where each group received a daily dose of prednisone at 5 mg/kg/day for respectively: 7, 14, 28 and 56 days. Body weight, initial and final food and water consumption were evaluated, in addition to the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) in the last week of treatment, followed by blood collection in the last day to evaluate the leukogram and serum biochemical profile. On days 28 and 56, there was a decrease in total leukocytes, an increase in serum cholesterol and non-HDL lipoprotein, and a decrease in albumin. For Chapter 2, other Wistar rats were divided into two groups (n=7 rats per group): Prednisone without environmental enrichment (EE-) and Prednisone with environmental enrichment (EE+) and were treated daily with prednisone 5.0mg/kg/day, for 28 days. The leukogram, body weight, and initial and final blood glucose were evaluated, in addition to the OGTT in the last week and on the last day, and blood was obtained to evaluate the biochemical profile in the last day. The use of EE increased leukocytes, OGTT glycemia and decreased food consumption and serum lipoproteins. Therefore, all this work can be concluded that the adverse effects of the use of PRED can be lower by AE use, presenting this type of methodology more studied and refined in the future for animal welfare.