Effect of maternal COVID-19 vaccination on mandibular molars development in albino rats offspring

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal vaccination by coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine on the development of mandibular first molar of albino rats offspring. Pregnant female rats were divided into control and vaccinated groups injected intramuscularly by 0.035 mL of either saline or AstraZeneca vaccine, respectively. The offspring were examined through serology, histology, histomorphometric and PCR analysis. Vaccinated mothers and their offspring showed mean antibody concentrations of 92.57 AU/mL and 100 AU/mL, respectively. Histologically, both groups were nearly at the same stages of odontogenesis on the third and ninth postnatal days. Higher bone deposition was quantified in the vaccinated group on the third and ninth postnatal days except below the tooth germ on the third day with statistically significant difference (p value ≤ 0.05). Significant increases in expression of Receptor activator of nuclear factor ligand (RANKL) gene (3.53 fold) and bone morphogenic protein-2 (BMP-2) gene (4.76 fold) were noted on the ninth postnatal day. However, osteoprotegrin (OPG) gene was downregulated (0.40 fold) on the ninth postnatal day with statistically significant differences (p value ≤ 0.05) between both groups. We conclude that AstraZeneca vaccine administration during pregnancy is generally safe regarding the teeth development in the offspring.