Different Stages of Alveolar Bone Repair Process Are Compromised in the Type 2 Diabetes Condition: An Experimental Study in Rats

Abstract

Simple Summary Type 2 diabetes (T2D) affects more than 90% of all patients diagnosed with diabetes, and among its risk factors, unhealthy eating habits are worth mentioning. With the notorious increase in the incidence of diabetic patients, there has also been an increase in surgical complications in dentistry, so this work presents a study model that mimics the T2D condition in rats, where animals receive a diet composed of foods rich in sugar and fat equivalent to the poor diet of the current population. The animals were submitted to dental extraction to perform analyzes at different stages of the alveolar bone. It is important to highlight that with the development of this experimental model it will be possible to simulate different conditions that are observed in clinics and in consequence and improve the characterization of the cellular responses involved in this complex condition of T2D. The scientific evidence presented in this study shows that T2D prolongs the local inflammatory process, which impairs the organization and maturation of collagen fibers, delaying bone formation and bone turnover. This fact implies in a series of disorders in dental practice, that would need to compensate in other ways, either with systemic medications or local therapies. The aim of this study was to analyze the stages of the alveolar bone repair in type 2 diabetic rats evaluating the mechanism of mineralization and bone remodeling processes after dental extraction. Forty-eight rats were divided into normoglycemic (NG) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) groups. The upper right incisor was extracted and after 3, 7, 14 and 42 days the animals were euthanized. The following analyses were performed: immunolabeling against antibodies TNF alpha, TGF beta, IL6, WNT, OCN and TRAP, collagen fibers maturation, microtomography and confocal microscopy. Data were submitted to statistical analysis. The immunolabeling analysis showed that the T2D presented a more pronounced alveolar inflammation than NG. Labeling of proteins responsible for bone formation and mineralization was higher in NG than T2D, which presented greater resorptive activity characterized by TRAP labeling. Also, T2D group showed a decrease in the amount of collagen fibers. Micro-CT analysis showed that T2D causes a decrease in bone volume percentage due to deficient trabecular parameters and higher porosity. The T2D bone dynamics show a loss in bone remodeling process. T2D prolongs the local inflammatory process, which impairs the organization and maturation of collagen fibers, delaying bone formation that generates impact on mineralization and bone turnover.