Early life stress exacerbates bone resorption and inhibits anxiety‐like behaviour induced by apical periodontitis in rats

• Published in: International endodontic journal 2023-02, Vol.56 (2), p.203-212
• Main Authors: Bertolini Botelho, Maria Clara, Cintra, Luciano Tavares Angelo, Silva, Cristiane Cantiga, Mitsuy Kayahara, Giseli, Belzunces Pereira, Rosani, Oliveira Santos, Mylena Fernanda, Issamu Miyahara, Glauco, Biasoli, Éder Ricardo, Penha Oliveira, Sandra Helena, Bernabé, Daniel Galera
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alveolar bone; Alveolar Bone Loss; Animals; Anxiety; anxiety, animal model; apical periodontitis; Bone loss; Bone Resorption; early life stress; Gum disease; Inflammation; Male; Maternal Deprivation; maternal separation; Molars; Periapical Periodontitis - pathology; Periodontitis; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Stress, Psychological
• ISSN: 0143-2885; 1365-2591
• DOI: 10.1111/iej.13857

Aim To evaluate the influence of the early life stress (ELS) on the severity of the apical periodontitis (AP) in Wistar rats. Methodology Forty male Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 10): Control rats; AP—rats with AP; ELS—rats subject to ELS; AP + ELS—rats exposed to ELS and subject to AP. ELS was induced by maternal separation (MS) for a period of 3 h for 21 consecutive days. AP was induced via pulp exposure of the first and second right maxillary molars to the oral environment for 40 days. Three days before euthanasia, all rats underwent behavioural analysis to measure anxiety levels by elevated zero maze. Then, the rats were euthanized and the maxillas were removed to assess the occurrence and severity of AP. The periapical region was evaluated for the intensity of the inflammatory infiltrate and the extent of bone loss. The Mann–Whitney test was performed for nonparametric data, and the Tukey's or Student's t‐test was performed for parametric data (p