An involvement of granulocyte medullasin in phenytoin-induced gingival overgrowth in rats.
To investigate the relationship between histological changes and distributions of medullasin, a neutrophil elastase-like serine proteinase, in phenytoin-induced gingival overgrowth, we established a rat model of gingival overgrowth. Thirty-two, 20-day-old male Fischer 344 rats were fed a diet containing phenytoin and sacrificed at 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks. Control rats (n = 40) were fed the same diet, but without the drug and killed at the same weeks as experimental rats (n = 32) and 0 week (n = 8). The mandible specimens were resected and sectioned bucco-lingually between the first and second molars. A marked inflammatory-cell infiltration and elongated rete pegs were seen in the phenytoin-treated group. The extent of the overgrowth assessed by computer image analysis and the density of medullasin-positive cells by immunohistochemistry in the approximal gingiva showed a significant increase in the phenytoin-treated group compared to the control group. A marked infiltration of the positive cells in experimental rats was observed as early as 2 weeks when gingival overgrowth was not fully established. Medullasin-positive cells were mostly neutrophils and partly macrophage-like cells. These findings suggest that medullasin may be involved in mainly host defense and secondarily collagen metabolism in the phenytoin-induced rat model of gingival overgrowth.
Department of Periodontology, Nagasaki University School of Dentistry, Japan.
Yukio
Y
Ozaki
Kazushi
K
Kunimatsu
Yoshitaka
Y
Hara
Ihachi
I
Kato
Yosuke
Y
Aoki
Kenji
K
Yamamoto
Yuzo
Y
Kato
D000818:Animals; D005881:Gingiva / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D005885:Gingival Hyperplasia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000378:metabolism; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010672:Phenytoin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D010672:Phenytoin; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; C034869:medullasin