ANALYSIS OF INSULIN RESISTANCE AND PLACENTAL HISTOLOGY IN PREGNANT RATS WITH APICAL PERIODONTITIS

• Grant number: 23/16727-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Endodontics
• Principal Investigator: Doris Hissako Matsushita
• Grantee: Bruna de Oliveira Alves
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia (FOA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

An association between oral inflammation and systemic disease is well established in the literature. Several studies have shown that maternal periodontal disease (PD) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight and preterm delivery. In addition, periodontal pathogens are known to induce changes in placental structure. In addition, there is a paucity of studies in the literature examining the relationship between maternal apical periodontitis (AP) and adverse pregnancy outcomes. AP is an oral inflammatory process in the region of the root apex associated with an increase in inflammatory cytokines that may contribute to systemic changes. The aim of this study will be to investigate insulin resistance and morphological aspects in the placenta of rats with AP. For this purpose, 24 Wistar rats (2 months old) will be divided into 3 groups: 1) control rats; 2) rats with 1 AP induced in the 1st upper right molar; 3) rats with 4 APs induced in the 1st and 2nd upper and lower right molars. The AP will be induced using a carbon steel drill with a 0.1 mm ball at the end. After 30 days of pulp exposure, rats from all groups will be mated. The rats will be euthanized on the twentieth day of gestation for the following experiments: 1) placental weight; 2) histological analysis of placenta; 3) glycemia by glucose-oxidase method; 4) insulinemia by ELISA method; 5) insulin resistance by HOMA-IR calculation. For the statistical analysis, the normality of the data will be statistically verified. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Tukey test will be used. Results were considered statistically significant when p < 0.05 using Graph Pad Prism statistical software version 7.0 (GraphPad Software Inc., San Diego, CA, USA). Values are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM).