April 2022

Aim: It has been shown that periodontitis increases systemic inflammation, which in turn up-regulates vascular cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). We hypothesised that an increase in vascular COX-2 expression plays a role in vascular homeostasis. Thus, we analysed the effect of COX-2 inhibition in an experimental infarction model in rats with periodontitis. Materials and Methods: Wistar rats were subjected to ligature-induced experimental periodontitis or sham procedure. After 12 days of induction of periodontitis or sham procedure the animals were assigned to receive either etoricoxib (10 mg/kg/day,v.o.) or vehicle for four days. Infarction-like myocardial lesions were induced by injecting high doses of isoprenaline on days 13 and 14. The mortality associated with the induction of experimental infarction was measured. On day 15, blood samples were collected for the quantification of creatinine kinase N-acetylcysteine (CK-NAC) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH); the hearts were collected for histological assessment. Results: The periodontitis group that received etoricoxib presented significantly increased serum levels of CK-NAC (p<0.05) and LDH. The inflammatory infiltrate in the heart tissues were not significantly changed among the animals. Conclusion: The data suggested that COX-2 modulates heart ischemia lesions during periodontitis. Selective COX-2 inhibitors must be used with caution especially during periodontitis, even for a short period.