ToxSci Advance Access published online on March 16, 2006
Toxicological Sciences, doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfj158
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1 National Public Health Institute, Department of Environmental Health, P.O. Box 95, FIN-70701 Kuopio, Finland
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. TCDD, the model compound of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs), is a potent toxicant with ability to hamper development. Accidental exposure to TCDD has been linked with various developmental dental aberrations in humans and experimentally it has been shown that TCDD causes, among other defects, hypomineralization of dental hard tissues in rodents. Here, we studied the effect of very low perinatal TCDD exposure on dental caries susceptibility and mineral composition of tooth enamel in rats. Pregnant line C rats (rat line developed in our laboratory) were dosed 0.03- 1.0 µg/kg TCDD on gestation day 15 and allowed to give birth and nurse until weaning on postnatal day 21. The offspring were challenged with cariogenic treatment including sugar-rich diet and three inoculations with Streptococcus mutans. Control groups involved animals with or without cariogenic challenge or TCDD treatment. The number of caries lesions in left lower molars was determined by Schiff's staining after eight weeks of weaning. TCDD treatment increased cariogenic lesions in enamel at the lowest maternal dose used, 0.03 µg/kg, and at the maternal highest dose, 1 µg/kg, the lesions extended through enamel to dentin more frequently. Changes in mineral composition measured by electron probe micro-analyzer, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry, could not explain the increased caries susceptibility. In conclusion, perinatal TCDD exposure can render rat molars more susceptible to caries.
Received January 5, 2006
Accepted March 6, 2006
Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology
The Effect of Perinatal TCDD Exposure on Caries Susceptibility in Rats
Hanna M. Miettinen 1 *,
Rita Sorvari 2,
Satu Alaluusua 3,
Mari Murtomaa 4,
Juha Tuukkanen 4,
and
Matti Viluksela 1
2 Department of Anatomy, P.O. Box 1627, FIN-70211, University of Kuopio, Finland
3 Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Institute of Dentistry, P.O. Box 41, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki and Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, P.O. Box 263, FIN-00029 Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland
4 Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, 90014 University of Oulu
Hanna M. Miettinen, E-mail: Hanna.Miettinen{at}ktl.fi
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