Reduced methacholine-induced submandibular salivary secretion in rats with experimental periodontitis.

MARIANO AMER; JUAN C ELVERDIN; JAVIER FERNÁNDEZ-SOLARI; VANINA A MEDINA; ANA P CHIARENZA; MARIA I VACAS

ARCHIVES OF ORAL BIOLOGY

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2011 vol. 56 p. 421 - 427

0003-9969

OBJECTIVE: Saliva is the first barrier to the entry of bacteria and viruses into the body and is considered a necessary instrument in oral health. Intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide endotoxins results in submandibular gland (SMG) hyposalivation. The objective of present studies was to assess if periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory disease caused by oral bacteria, alters cholinergic-induced SMG salivary secretion. DESIGN: An experimental periodontitis model (EP) (cotton thread ligature around the neck of the first lower molars) was used. Male Wistar rats (300-380g) were randomly divided into 3 groups: control, 7 days-bilateral EP and 7 days-unilateral EP (to study if there were different effects at the ipsilateral and contralateral side). The following determinations were performed in SMG: (1) dose-response curves to the cholinergic agonist methacholine, (2) prostaglandin E (PGE) content, (3) inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity and (4) histology of gland sections. RESULTS: The molars with EP, no matter the group, exhibited significant and similar bone loss (p