ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of polaprezinc on morphologic change of the tongue epithelium and on cell cycle regulation of taste bud cells by using zinc-deficient rats, an animal model of taste disturbance. METHODS: After 28 days of feeding with zinc-sufficient or -deficient diet, the rats fed a zinc-deficient diet were divided into four groups in which 0, 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg of polaprezinc were administered for 28 days with continuation of diet. Histopathological and morphological examinations of the tongue were carried out. RESULTS: Parakeratosis was observed in all rats receiving the zinc-deficient diet and 1 mg/kg polaprezinc but not in rats receiving 3 and 10 mg/kg polaprezinc. The ratio of keratinizing epithelium in the outer and inner circumference were significantly increased from 9.6% and 11.3%, respectively, in zinc-sufficient rats to 36.9% and 32.9%, respectively, in zinc-deficient rats (P<0.001 and <0.01). This increase was reversed to 13.7% and 12.3% in rats that received 3 and 10 mg/kg polaprezinc in the outer circumference, respectively. Same phenomenon was seen in the inner circumference part, 13.0% and 10.8% (P<0.01), respectively. In addition, proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive cells in the taste bud were significantly decreased from 75.5% in zinc-sufficient rats to 32.2% in zinc-deficient rats (P<0.001). This decrease was reversed to 70.3%, 83.1% and 81.2% in rats that received 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg polaprezinc, respectively. CONCLUSION: Polaprezinc improves parakeratosis and decreases taste bud cell proliferation caused by zinc deficiency. These effects may be involved in mechanisms underlying improvement of taste disorders in animal models.
Subject(s)
Carnosine/analogs & derivatives , Organometallic Compounds/therapeutic use , Tongue/drug effects , Trace Elements/deficiency , Zinc Compounds/therapeutic use , Zinc/deficiency , Animals , Carnosine/administration & dosage , Carnosine/therapeutic use , Cell Count , Cell Cycle/drug effects , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Disease Models, Animal , Epithelium/drug effects , Epithelium/pathology , Leukoplakia, Oral/drug therapy , Leukoplakia, Oral/etiology , Male , Microscopy, Electron, Scanning , Microvilli/ultrastructure , Organometallic Compounds/administration & dosage , Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen/analysis , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Taste Buds/drug effects , Taste Buds/pathology , Taste Disorders/drug therapy , Time Factors , Tongue/pathology , Zinc Compounds/administration & dosageABSTRACT
The effect of polaprezinc, a chelate compound consisting of zinc ion and L-carnosine, on abnormalities of taste sensation induced by feeding a zinc-deficient diet to rats was examined by using the two-bottle preference test (quinine hydrochloride as a bitter taste and sodium chloride as a salty taste). Rats were fed either a zinc-deficient or a zinc-sufficient diet. The zinc-deficient diet increased the preference for both taste solutions, while polaprezinc (at doses of 3 and 10 mg/kg) restored the altered taste preferences. We also evaluated the proliferation of taste bud cells using 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU). The BrdU incorporation into taste bud cells was significantly reduced in rats fed a zinc-deficient diet compared with rats fed a zinc-sufficient diet (from 50.8% to 45.0%, p<0.05) and this reduction was reversed by polaprezinc at doses of 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg, increasing to 50.2%, 53.5%, and 52.5%, respectively. These findings indicate that zinc deficiency induces the delayed of proliferation of taste bud cells, while polaprezinc improves cell proliferation. In conclusion, polaprezinc had a therapeutic effect in a rat model of abnormal taste sensation. Its mechanism of action was suggested to involve improvement of the decrease in taste bud cell proliferation caused by zinc deficiency.
