The Effects of Folic Acid Supplementation on Novel Biomarkers of the Endothelial Function in Rats with Experimental Periodontitis

Background: It is now well known that periodontitis increases the risk of future cardiovascular disease, regardless of well-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of folic acid (FA) supplementation on endothelial damage caused by periodontitis.Materials and methods: 48 rats were divided randomly into five groups: healthy control (HC), sham control (SC), lipopolysaccharide-induced periodontitis (LPS), lipopolysaccharide-induced periodontitis with low-dose FA (4 mg/kg) (LPS+4), and high-dose FA (12 mg/kg) (LPS+12) administered groups. Rats were euthanized after 15 days of the first lipopolysaccharide injection. Circulating progenitor cells taken from each rat's blood samples were counted using flow cytometry. ADMA, CD34+, and CD133+ expression in periodontal and cardiac tissues were labeled by using immunoperoxidase method.Results: There were no differences among the groups regarding ADMA expression in periodontal tissues. However, the CD34+ and CD133+ expression values reached the highest value in the LPS group, significantly higher than in the healthy group. In the heart tissue, all biomarkers were statistically significant among groups. Flow cytometry analysis results did not differ in ADMA expression level, but CD34+ and CD133+ expression levels were statistically significant between groups. Conclusions: The results of our study showed that periodontitis increases the expression levels of endothelial biomarkers, and FA supplementation positively impacts the endothelium dysfunction caused by periodontitis.