A dieta hipercalórica pode agravar a esteatose causada pela periodontite experimental em ratos?

Abstract

Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease, of predominantly bacterial origin, that affects the periodontal tissues of protection and fixation and influences in systemic alterations, among them, hepatic alterations. Some factors, such as the migration of bacteria and their byproducts, the immune response and oxidative stress, with consequent lipid peroxidation, may be related to the influence of periodontitis on other sites in the body. In the liver, one of the changes most related to periodontitis is steatosis, defined as the accumulation of lipids in the hepatocyte cytoplasm. Steatosis, in turn, is also related to the intake of foods rich in fat and sugars (high-fat). The objective of this study was to evaluate the extent and severity of periodontitis-induced hepatic steatosis according to the intake of a high-fat diet. Twenty-one rats were divided into three groups, with seven

animals each: Control; Periodontitis (only induction of periodontal disease) and High- fat + periodontitis (received high-fat diet and induction of periodontal disease). The rats

were submitted to analysis of the following periodontal parameters: gingival bleeding index, depth of probing, dental mobility and alveolar bone height. In the hepatic tissue, the levels of malondialdehyde, glutathione and myeloperoxidase activity were measured. Liver samples were also subjected to histopathological evaluation. Finally, serum levels of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, glucose, uric acid, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were measured. The results of the clinical parameters of periodontal disease demonstrated that the disease induction model was effective. The histopathological evaluation of the groups with periodontitis demonstrated the presence of hepatic steatosis, differently from that observed in the control. However, the High-fat + Periodontitis group had an increase in the steatosis score with a statistically significant difference in relation to the Periodontitis and Control groups. The levels of malondialdehyde, uric acid and alanine aminotransferase were significantly higher in the High-fat + Periodontitis group when compared to the other groups, whereas glutathione and HDL cholesterol levels were decreased. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that the high-fat diet aggravates hepatic steatosis induced by periodontitis.