Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (B. lactis) HN019 in drinking water on the development of apical periodontitis (AP) in rats. In total 60 animals were divided into a control group (sound teeth); Group I - regular water without AP; Group II - probiotic water without AP; Group III - regular water with AP; Group IV - probiotic water with AP. AP was induced after 3 days in the control groups and after 7, 21, and 42 days in groups III and IV. The animals were euthanized, and the mandibles were subjected to histotechnical processing. Samples were stained with hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) to identify root canal features, apical and periapical regions. Additionally, histoenzymology was performed to detect osteoclasts, immunohistochemistry was used to identify osteoclastogenesis markers, and the Brown & Brenn technique was applied for microbiological analysis. The data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism 8.0.1 with a significance level of 5%. Although no statistical differences were observed, the groups administered with probiotics showed better conditions in terms of histological aspects seen microscopically. Furthermore, there were no differences in the number of osteoclasts (p > 0.05). The RANKL marker was not found in the probiotic group at 42 days, unlike in group III.

Resumo Estudos recentes sugerem que a osteoporose, além dos danos provocados em ossos longos, pode causar deterioração dos ossos maxilares, especialmente na região do osso alveolar, com efeitos na progressão da doença periodontal assim como no reparo ósseo. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito da osteoporose no metabolismo de osteoblastos do osso alveolar mandibular de ratos. Foram utilizadas 10 ratas fêmeas divididas em dois grupos experimentais (Sham e OVX), que foram ovariectomizadas e após 8 semanas, eutanasiadas para coletar amostras do osso mandibular e isolar as células osteoblásticas. As células foram cultivadas em placas de cultura de 24 poços para serem realizados os experimentos in vitro. Após 7, 10 e 14 dias foram avaliados a proliferação celular pelo ensaio de MTT, detecção in situ de fosfatase alcalina (ALP) assim como de nódulos mineralizados e expressão quantitativa de genes associados à remodelação óssea. Os resultados mostraram que aos 7, 10 e 14 dias a proliferação celular foi menor para o grupo OVX. A detecção in situ de ALP foi maior aos 7 dias e menor aos 10 e 14 dias no grupo OVX. Aos 17 e 21 dias o grupo OVX apresentou uma diminuição dos nódulos mineralizados. Houve uma repressão na expressão dos genes Alp, Bglap e Runx2 e uma indução do gene Opg no grupo OVX, enquanto que a modulação dos genes Opn e Rankl foi similar entre os grupos experimentais. Nossos resultados sugerem que a osteoporose tem um efeito deletério no metabolismo de células do osso alveolar em ratas ovariectomizadas, o que pode afetar o tratamento de doenças associadas aos ossos maxilares

Abstract Recent studies suggest that osteoporosis, in addition to the damage caused in long bones, may cause deterioration in the jaws, especially in alveolar bone sites, with effects in the progress of periodontal disease as well as in bone healing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of osteoporosis in the metabolism of rat alveolar bone osteoblasts. There were used 10 female rats divided in two experimental groups (Sham and OVX), which were ovariectomized and after 8 weeks euthanized to collect mandibular bone samples in order to isolate osteoblastic cells. The cells were cultured in 24-well plates to perform the in vitro experiments. After 7, 10 and 14 days, there were evaluated cell proliferation by MTT assay, in situ detection of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as well as mineralized nodules and expression of genes associated to bone remodeling. Results showed that at 7, 10 and 14 days cell proliferation was lower for OVX group. In situ detection of ALP was higher at 7 days and lower at 10 and 14 days in OVX group. At 17 and 21 days, OVX group had a significative decrease of mineralization nodules. There was a downregulation in the expression of Alp, Bglap and Runx2 genes and an upregulation of Opg in OVX group, whereas Opn and Rankl modulation was similar between the evaluated groups. Our results suggest that osteoporosis has a deleterious effect on alveolar bone cells from ovariectomized rats, which might affect the treatment of diseases associated to the jaw bones.

Abstract Clinical research needs to formulate a question, which must be answered by obeying ethical precepts with well-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria and approval of the study on platforms of ethical appreciation and clinical trial records. In comparing the results or clinically relevant outcomes should be prioritized in the study of techniques, products, inputs, drugs and therapies. However, it is not always possible to use long study drawings, with many participants, and with many costs, then look for study designs with surrogate outcomes, usually a shorter path, with less sample size and considerably lower costs to the research, with shorter intervention time. Considering these outcomes as major challenges in clinical research, the premise of this work was to examine in relevant research platforms, studies on the feasibility of using surrogate endpoints for clinically relevant parameters in dentistry, with a critical evaluation of the advantages, disadvantages, and need for validation of substitute parameters for clinical studies. After a critical analysis of the results, it could be concluded that surrogate endpoints may have an important role in the initial process of developing new drugs, faster, with less sampling, and lower risk of side effects for the patient. Careful use of the surrogate endpoints is advised because, even if validated, they can provide ambiguous evidence and not be extrapolated to other populations, and may lead to bias due to the individual interpretation of each researcher. The use of unplanned surrogate outcomes that arise during the study requires a lot of caution.