Bacterial Infection Increases Periodontal Bone Loss in Diabetic Rats Through Enhanced Apoptosis

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Departmental Papers (Dental)
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Dentistry
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Pacios, Sandra
Andriankaja, Oelisoa
Kang, Jun
Alnammary, Maher
Bae, Jason
de Brito Bezerra, Beatriz
Schreiner, Helen
Fine, Daniel H
Graves, Dana T
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Abstract

Periodontal disease is the most common osteolytic disease in humans and is significantly increased by diabetes mellitus. We tested the hypothesis that bacterial infection induces bone loss in diabetic animals through a mechanism that involves enhanced apoptosis. Type II diabetic rats were inoculated with Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and treated with a caspase-3 inhibitor, ZDEVD-FMK, or vehicle alone. Apoptotic cells were measured with TUNEL; osteoblasts and bone area were measured in H&E sections. New bone formation was assessed by labeling with fluorescent dyes and by osteocalcin mRNA levels. Osteoclast number, eroded bone surface, and new bone formation were measured by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining. Immunohistochemistry was performed with an antibody against tumor necrosis factor-α. Bacterial infection doubled the number of tumor necrosis factor-α–expressing cells and increased apoptotic cells adjacent to bone 10-fold (P < 0.05). Treatment with caspase inhibitor blocked apoptosis, increased the number of osteoclasts, and eroded bone surface (P < 0.05); yet, inhibition of apoptosis resulted in significantly greater net bone area because of an increase in new bone formation, osteoblast numbers, and an increase in bone coupling. Thus, bacterial infection in diabetic rats stimulates periodontitis, in part through enhanced apoptosis of osteoblastic cells that reduces osseous coupling through a caspase-3–dependent mechanism. Diabetes is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by hyperglycemia that affects 26 million Americans.1 Diabetes has several complications, such as cardiovascular, renal, microvascular, and periodontal diseases. Periodontal disease is one of the most common forms of osteolytic bone disease and one of the most frequent complications of the diabetes.2 Recent research suggests that the relationship between periodontitis and diabetes is reciprocal.3, 4 People with diabetes are more susceptible to periodontitis, and periodontitis may affect serum glucose levels and contribute to progression of diabetes.5 Diabetes may contribute to periodontitis because of its effect on inflammation.6, 7 Despite being triggered by bacterial infection, periodontal bone loss is tied to the inflammatory host response, which leads to the generation of prostaglandins and cytokines that stimulate osteoclastogenesis and periodontal bone loss.8 Several of the detrimental aspects of periodontal disease have recently been shown to be mediated by elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α).9, 10 TNF-α is a proinflammatory cytokine produced by leukocytes and other cell types.11 Enhanced TNF-α levels have been directly linked to cellular changes in diabetic retinopathy, deficits in wound healing, and diabetes-enhanced periodontitis.12, 13, 14 Some of the detrimental effects of diabetes-enhanced TNF-α levels may be because of the induction of cell death by triggering caspase activity. Caspases are a family of cysteine proteases that can act as either initiators (caspases 2, 8, and 9) or executioners (caspases 3, 6, and 7) of apoptosis.15 Caspase-3 appears to play a central role in bacteria and lipopolysaccharide-mediated apoptosis.16, 17 In addition, it has been shown that TNF-α can stimulate the expression of several pro-apoptotic genes, many of which are regulated by the pro-apoptotic transcription factor, forkhead box-O1 (FOXO1).18 The functional role of apoptosis in pathological processes can be studied with caspase inhibitors, which are small peptides that block the activity of well-defined caspases.19 These inhibitors have been used in animal models to attenuate cell death and diminish tissue damage in ischemic conditions, sepsis, and other pathological processes.20, 21 Other studies using caspase inhibitors have shown that part of the detrimental effect of diabetes on healing after infection is the result of increased fibroblast or osteoblast apoptosis.16, 22 To understand how diabetes may affect periodontal bone loss through apoptosis, we used a caspase-3/7 inhibitor in a type 2 Goto-Kakizaki (GK) diabetic rat model of periodontal disease induced by bacterial infection. The aim of this study was to determine how apoptosis of osteoblasts contributed to periodontal bone loss by its effect on bone formation in diabetic animals.

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2013-12-01
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The American Journal of Pathology
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