[Expression of TRPV1 and CGRP in rat trigeminal ganglion during orthodontic tooth movement]

Sprague-Dawley rat models of tooth movement were established to investigate the expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) in rat trigeminal ganglion during orthodontic tooth movement, and to explore the roles of TRPV1 and CGRP in orthodontic pain.

Sixty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group (n=6), sham operation group (n=6), and experimental group (n=54). Tooth movement models were established, orthodontic force (50 g) was applied on the maxillary first molar in the rats of experimental group, and then the trigeminal ganglia were collected at 4, 8 h, 1 d (3 subgroups were set up according to the force: 1 d-30 g, 1 d-50 g, 1 d-80 g), 3, 5, 7, 14 d after tooth movement. The changes of TRPV1 and CGRP expression were detected by immunofluorescence staining. SPSS16.0 software package was used for statistical analysis.

According to immunofluorescence staining, the TRPV1-IR and CGRP-IR neurons were mostly small to medium sized. The percentages of TRPV1-IR and CGRP-IR neurons in trigeminal ganglion increased after applying force, and reached the peak at 1-3 d and then fell to the initial level gradually. In addition, the application of greater force during experimental tooth movement induced higher percentages of TRPV1-IR and CGRP-IR neurons in trigeminal ganglion.

Experimental tooth movement leads to the regular changes of TRPV1-IR and CGRP-IR neurons in trigeminal ganglion, indicating that TRPV1 and CGRP may play important roles in orthodontic pain.