Experimental Periodontitis Induces Inflammatory Gene Expression in the Aorta
It is thought that periodontal disease may aggravate cardiovascular disease by enhancing systemic inflammation.
Objective: the goal of this study was to investigate whether experimental periodontitis induced an inflammatory response that could be detected both locally and in cardiovascular tissue.
Methods: Ligatures were placed around second molar of rats to induce experimental periodontitis and left in place for seven days. Three groups of animals were tested: No ligature (baseline), ligature placement for 7 days and 4 days after ligature removal to examine resolution of inflammation. RNA was extracted from the aorta and gingival tissue by RNAeasy MiniPrep and mRNA levels were examined by quantitative real-time PCR using primers and probe sets from Applied Biosystems. Significance was established by one way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results: Seven days after ligature were placed the aorta showed a 2 fold increase in TNF-á, 3 fold increase in VCAM-1, 8 fold increase in ICAM-1, and 6 fold increase in IL-6 compared to baseline. All values were significant (P<0.05). The level of TNF-á and VCAM-1 returned to baseline four days after removal of ligatures (P>0.05) while ICAM-1 and IL-6 remained elevated 3 fold compared to the baseline (P<0.05). In the gingiva, both TNF-á and VCAM-1 were elevated by 2 fold in the seven day groups (P<0.05). Both genes remained elevated four days after ligatures were removed (P<0.05). Enhanced IL-6 expression was elevated 2 fold in the four-day after ligature removal group (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The onset of experimental periodontitis causes the induction of inflammatory genes locally and in the aorta demonstrating that conditions that cause local inflammation in the gingiva affect cardiovascular tissue.
Seq #237 - Periodontal -Systemic Interactions
3:30 PM-4:45 PM, Friday, March 23, 2007 Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Exhibit Hall I2-J
