Impact of binge alcohol consumption on mandibular cytoarchitecture and remodeling in adolescent Sprague Dawley rats

Abstract

Underage binge drinking is a major concern as it can have a negative impact on the growth and development of the adolescent skeleton, affecting many people worldwide, including in South Africa. Improving our understanding of the effects of binge drinking on the adolescent mandible can help identifying potential intervention measures and raise public awareness about the dangers of alcohol use. The present study was conducted to research how acute binge drinking affected the structure and remodeling of the mandible in adolescent Sprague Dawley rats. The study involved twenty-four Sprague Dawley rats (12 male and 12 female), aged 7 weeks, divided into either an alcohol-exposed group (n = 6 males and 6 females) or a pair-fed control group (n = 6 males and 6 females). The treatment involved administering 3 g/kg of 20 % alcohol three days a week (on alternate days, with a single dose of alcohol administered on these days) for 7 days to the alcohol-exposed groups, while the pair-fed control groups received a caloric equivalent dose of maltose dextrin via oral gavage. Alcohol is high in calories; thus, a pair-fed model was used to control potential weight changes resulting from caloric intake rather than the effects of alcohol itself. Animals were euthanized on day 7 using a pentobarbital injection, and their mandibles were collected and processed for histology and immunohistochemistry staining using Haematoxylin and Eosin, anti-ki67, and anti-alkaline phosphatase (ALP) antibodies. Images were captured using a light microscope equipped with an axiocam HRC digital camera (Zeiss Axioscope 2 plus). Cell quantification was performed using Fiji Image J software where the manual counting method was utilized. The results showed negative changes in the cytoarchitecture in alcohol-exposed groups, and a decrease in osteoblast numbers in the female alcohol-exposed group (female pair-fed control: mean = 136.00 ± 11.81; female alcohol-exposed: mean = 106.00 ± 3.97 (p = 0,008)). There were no significant changes in the number of proliferating cells. Acute binge alcohol exposure negatively affected cytoarchitecture and bone remodeling in the adolescent mandible.