Effects of Cyclosporin A on Dental Alveolar Bone: A Histomorphometric Study in Rats

• Published in: Journal of periodontology (1970) 2001-05, Vol.72 (5), p.659-665
• Main Authors: Shen, E‐Chin, Fu, Earl, Hsieh, Yao‐Dung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alveolar bone/anatomy and histology; Alveolar Process - drug effects; Alveolar Process - pathology; Analysis of Variance; Animal studies; Animals; Bone Marrow - drug effects; Bone Marrow - pathology; Bone Matrix - drug effects; Bone Matrix - pathology; Cephalometry; Coloring Agents; cyclosporin A/adverse effects; Cyclosporine - pharmacology; Dentistry; Immunosuppressive Agents - pharmacology; Maxilla - drug effects; Maxilla - pathology; Molar; molars/anatomy and histology; osteopenia/etiology; Palate - pathology; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Statistics as Topic; Tolonium Chloride; Tooth Apex - pathology; tooth movement/adverse effects
• ISSN: 0022-3492; 1943-3670
• DOI: 10.1902/jop.2001.72.5.659

Background: We have previously reported cyclosporin A (CA)‐induced osteopenia around the dental alveoli of the mandibular incisors of rats. The drug‐induced tooth displacement and the regional anatomical complexity around the mandibular incisors might complicate the local effects of CA. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the dental alveolar bone histomorphology around maxillary secondary molars in CA‐treated rats and to further elucidate the effects of CA on the dental alveolus. Methods: Twenty Sprague‐Dawley rats were assigned to a CA and a control group. Animals in the CA group received CA (15 mg/kg) daily and the control rats received only mineral oil. At the end of weeks 2 and 4, five animals in each group were sacrificed. Dental alveoli around the maxillary second molar region were frontally sectioned and stained with toluidine blue by undecalcified histological processing. Ten serial tissue sections, 80 µm apart, were selected for histometric evaluation. Bone volume, bone‐specific surface, and osteoid formation were measured at buccal, apical, and palatal locations in dental alveolus. Results: Overall bone mass in dental alveolus decreased more in the CA group than in the control group at both observation intervals. All histometric measurements, except the bone‐specific surface, were significantly affected by the alveolar location (palatal, apical, and buccal) and CA therapy (P = 0.004 and