Análise volumétrica e linear do tecido ósseo em camundongos Knockout para receptores AT1 e AT2 da Angiotensina II

Abstract

Bone is a mineralized connective tissue that in addition to providing a structure for the body, functions as an endocrine organ. There are several diseases that can involve bone metabolism, such as periodontal disease, which is a multicausal inflammatory process. The Renin-Angiotensin System, whose main modulator is Angiotensin II, is involved with electrolyte balance and inflammation. Angiotensin II interacts mainly with two receptors, type 1 (AT1) and type 2 (AT2). This work aimed to carry out a volumetric and linear analysis of the bone tissue of mice in healthy animals and submitted to an experimental model of periodontal disease: influence of angiotensin II AT1 and AT2 receptors. Six groups were used, three controls and three experimental, with ten animals each, using three different lines of mice: wild (WT), knockout AT1 and knockout AT2. Periodontal disease was induced by ligation, with 5.0 nylon thread, and after fifteen days the animals were euthanized. In order to analyze whether genetic variations would influence the phenotypic characteristics of bone tissue, analyzes of samples from the spine and femur of the animals of the three strains used were performed. Bone loss was assessed using volumetric and linear analysis using MICRO-CT. The results obtained from the spine samples showed a significant difference in bone density between the WT and AT1 groups (p <0.05). Regarding the number and separation between the trabeculae, there was a significant difference between the groups WT and AT1 (p <0.01) and WT and AT2 (p <0.05), for both analyzes. There was no significant difference between the knockout strains. The model used was effective in generating bone loss and significant differences between controls and patients (WT and AT1: p <0.001; AT2: p <0.01). In the analysis of the maxilla samples, there were no significant differences between the strains that were submitted to periodontal disease. The knockout of the angiotensin II receptor genes promoted changes in the bone phenotype of the animals, having, in these groups, a reduction in bone density and quality. The exclusive presence of the AT1 receptor did not induce greater bone loss, nor did the exclusive presence of the AT2 receptor prove to be protective, but it seems to be determinant for bone metabolism.