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Alterations of gingival morphology in nifedipine-fed rats
1Institute of Dental Research, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Background:
Gingival enlargement induced by nifedipine (NIF), a calcium antagonist, has been reported in human and animal studies. However, three-dimensional morphologic measurements of gingivae have never been used to describe this type of enlargement. We previously established an animal model of cyclosporin-induced gingival enlargement. The present study used morphologic measurements to examine whether or not NIF-induced gingival enlargement occurs in the animal model.
Methods:
Eighty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups. Rats in each group received daily NIF, at a dosage of 0, 10, 30 or 50 mg/kg body weight, by gastric feeding for nine weeks. Gingival dimensions (including buccolingual and mesiodistal widths, and vertical height) were assessed from stone models obtained from the mandibular incisor regions every three weeks.
Results:
Over the course of the nine-week experiments, significant dimensional changes of the gingivae were observed according to two main factors: 1) the dose or, 2) the treatment duration. Gingival dimensions (including buccolingual and mesiodistal widths, and vertical height) significantly increased with the duration of NIF treatment. Dimensional alterations of gingivae were noted among the different dosage groups, but significant differences were mainly observed in those groups compared to the 50 mg/kg group.
Conclusions:
The finding of increased gingival morphology in NIF-treated rats in this study shows that gingival enlargement can be induced by NIF in rats.