The Effect of Systemic Nicotine on Osseointegration of Titanium Implants in the Rat Femur

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether high levels of plasma nicotine, delivered via subcutaneously placed mini-osmotic pumps, had an effect on bone development and osseointegration of a titanium implant in rat femurs in both the short and long term. In this study, we hypothesized that systemic nicotine may not affect bone development, but may affect osseointegration in both the short and long term. Thirty rats were assigned to 4 groups. Group 1 (n = 10) was subdivided into 2 groups, which both received nicotine during the duration of the experiment. Half of the group (n = 5) was sacrificed at 2 weeks after implant placement, and the other half (n = 5) was sacrificed at 4 weeks after implant placement. Group 2 (n = 10) was treated identically; however, this group was given saline placebo rather than nicotine. Nicotine/saline was administered via subcutaneous mini-osmotic pumps. Serum analysis was assessed biweekly and weight was assessed weekly. Implant placement consisted of mini-implant placement in the femur of the rats under general anesthesia. After sacrifice, the femurs were harvested and analyzed. Biomechanical push-in test was used to determine the degree of osseointegration by evaluating the breakpoint load. Micro-CT was performed on the femurs of the remaining 10 rats to determine the bone density and architecture. Micro-CT showed no significant difference in bone morphometric analysis. Push-in test showed significant difference in axial load force required to dislodge the implant between the nicotine-treated and control rats both at 2 and at 4 weeks after implant placement. The evidence indicates that while there was no significant difference in bone development and remodeling with exposure to systemic nicotine, there was a significant difference in bone wound healing, specifically with the osseointegration of titanium implants at both 2 and 4 weeks after implant placement. In conclusion, systemic nicotine may have a significant impact on the osseointegration of implants in the rat femur. Additional studies need to be conducted to further understand the specific way in which nicotine adversely affects wound healing on the molecular level.

Bone turnover in passive smoking female rat: relationships to change in bone mineral density

“…Syversen et al[46]showed that female Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to nicotine vapour for 2 years and there was no difference in BMD between control rats and nicotine-exposed rats. Berley et al[47] and Yamano et al[48] indicated that systemic nicotine may have a significant adverse impact on bone wound healing and inhibit the bone matrix-related gene expressions required for wound healing. Brzóska et al [42,43] indicated that low exposure to cadmium (Cd) may affect the mineralization and biomechanical properties of growing bone, thus increasing the risk of fractures.…”

Recent updates on electronic cigarette aerosol and inhaled nicotine effects on periodontal and pulmonary tissues

“…This may also be due to impair functions of MSCs or resident stem cells by nicotine. Berley et al reported decreased bone to implant contact after 4 weeks of implant placement in rats’ femur receiving subcutaneous nicotine (Berley et al , ). Likewise, Yamano et al reported a downregulation in the expression of bone matrix‐related genes around implants in rats receiving nicotine for 8 weeks (Yamano et al , ).…”

Application of Laser-Induced Bone Therapy by Carbon Dioxide Laser Irradiation in Implant Therapy

“…To evaluate our hypothesis, we used histomorphological and clinical parameters to evaluate the degree of bone formation and osseointegration. Micro-CT image analysis [36], removal torque measurements [37–43], and histomorphometric evaluation [21, 43–47] are currently considered standard analyses in implant research. In the early healing stage, advancement of histomorphological changes and significantly increased functional analysis data were observed in the laser-implant group.…”