# The Impact of Atorvastatin on RANKL Expression in Rats during the Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Authors: Yang Zhao; Ting Wang; YuLi Gao
Journal: Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine
 (2022)

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## Abstract

Objective. To probe into the impact of atorvastatin on RANKL expression in rats during the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement and its associated molecular mechanisms. Methods. After establishing an orthodontic tooth movement model, the left teeth of the retention-stage rats were the maintained side, and the right teeth were the nonmaintained side, which were given physiological saline or atorvastatin dosing at 7d, 14d, and 21d, respectively, by tube feeding, in order to keep the rats as a control group at the beginning of the retention stage. A model of the rat’s upper jaw gypsum in each group was made at various time points to measure the distance at which the teeth relapsed. The pathological slices of the upper jaw arch were taken separately for TRAP staining observation. Results. Compared to the physiological saline group, the recurrence distance of rats in the atorvastatin group was visually lower (p<0.05), and the number of bone-breaking cells was signally lower (p<0.05); P-5b, PTH, VitD3, GC, IL-1, and IL-17 expressions (p<0.05) were visually decreased, while IL-11 expression was elevated (p<0.05). Conclusion. The atorvastatin given to rats during the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement inhibits RANKL expression and may function through OPG/RANKL/RANK system.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

During orthodontic treatment, the teeth are moved from the displaced place to the normal position after orthodontic treatment, and most patients can get a better occlusion. However, the teeth are from the previously stable state moved to an unstable position, the tooth alveolar bone reconstruction has not been stable, and there may be a certain risk of recurrence. With the aim to better inhibit the recurrence of orthodontic teeth, a large number of studies have reported on drug control. Among them, statins have good results. Statins are inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, which is a rate-limiting enzyme [1, 2] in the mevalonate pathway of cholesterol biosynthesis. Except for cholesterol-lowering properties, statins feature a range of multiple as well as anti-inflammatory effects [3, 4]. Studies have shown that statins are available to affect bone transformation, enhance bone-forming, and inhibit bone absorption [5–7]. These effects include regulating the receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB (RANK), the receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG), which ultimately promotes the inhibition of osteoclast genesis [8, 9]. In the skeletal system, RANKL is expressed on osteoblasts along with binds to RANK receptor expressed by hematopoietic precursors of osteoclasts, thus inducing these cells to rapidly differentiate into mature osteoclasts. OPG is a bait receptor produced by fibroblasts and osteoblasts, as well as even osteoclasts, and its molecule binds to RANKL to inhibit osteoclasts differentiation and induce its apoptosis [10].The main function of BMP-2 is to induce mesenchymal stem cells and some nodules. The differentiation of connective tissue cells into chondrocytes and osteocytes is the most effective. The cytokines that promote bone formation can promote bone formation. BMP promoting bone formation is accomplished by regulating gene expression in cells, which mainly includes the following two ways. Mundy et al. used exogenous BMP pairs. Human periodontal ligament cells enhance the activity of alkaline phosphatase and cell differentiation ability. Ma et al. revealed that the periodontal ligament is fine. The amount of attachment and proliferation of cells on the root of periodontal disease patients is less, and the growth state of the cells is relatively poor, but after the action of BMP, the number of periodontal ligament cells increased significantly. Indicates that BMP may play a role in tissue reconstruction and repair. [51 qualitative and quantitative analysis of periodontal tissue of orthodontic tooth moving rabbits. The change of BMP-2 expression indicates BMP-2 and tooth movement. Ferreira et al. found that for BMP-1, simvastatin has a significant positive regulatory effect on the expression of 2mRNA; thus, it can promote chondrocytes to finally form cartilage tissue. Grasser et al. learned through research that simvastatin can improve the level of bmp-2mrna which was dose-dependent.The data center can connect to the national higher education data platform through API interface and obtain higher education data from the platform. At the same time, audio and video capture devices can be used to capture audio and video of teachers’ teaching process offline or in real time. In addition, online questionnaires can be used to survey teachers’ teaching level, and the survey results data can be obtained through the API interface of the questionnaire website. Teachers’ online social data can also be collected.After data collection, the platform will process different types of data in batch or real time, using Hadoop or Spark framework for batch processing and storm or spark streaming framework for real-time processing.Our work is to probe into the impact of atorvastatin on rats during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement and its associated molecular mechanism and to provide theoretical basis and potential treatment for the relevant research and clinical treatment of orthodontic tooth retention and recovery.


## 2. Materials and Methods

### 2.1. Main Materials

Wister male rats (Hunan Slack Jingda Experimental Animals Co., Ltd.); Sumianxin, Suxingling (Institute of Military Veterinary Medicine, Academy of Military Medical Sciences); Atorvastatin (Pfizer); Enamel binders (Wuhan Hongji Dental Equipment Co., Ltd.); TRACP-5b ELISA kit, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 ELISA kit, adrenal glucocorticoid ELISA kit, IL-1 ELISA kit, IL-11 ELISA kit as well as IL-17 ELISA kit (R&D); Human TRACP ELISA (Solarbio); RNAKL antibody, RANK antibody, OPG antibody, HMGCR antibody,β-actin antibody (Abcam).


## 2.1. Main Materials

Wister male rats (Hunan Slack Jingda Experimental Animals Co., Ltd.); Sumianxin, Suxingling (Institute of Military Veterinary Medicine, Academy of Military Medical Sciences); Atorvastatin (Pfizer); Enamel binders (Wuhan Hongji Dental Equipment Co., Ltd.); TRACP-5b ELISA kit, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 ELISA kit, adrenal glucocorticoid ELISA kit, IL-1 ELISA kit, IL-11 ELISA kit as well as IL-17 ELISA kit (R&D); Human TRACP ELISA (Solarbio); RNAKL antibody, RANK antibody, OPG antibody, HMGCR antibody,β-actin antibody (Abcam).


## 3. The Experimental Method

### 3.1. Orthodontic Tooth Model

In total 90 7-week-old Wistar male rats were modeled after one-week adaptive feeding in the laboratory. Rats after receiving sumianxin (0.25 mL/kg) were subject to anesthetic injection in hind leg muscle and fixed to the operating table. With the rats’ anterior teeth as a support, our team made a fixed trench of 0.5 mm in depth on the gingival margin of rats’ two-sided maxillary incisors with a high-speed turbodrill, placed an orthodontic ligature wire of 0.20 mm in length, and knotted the coil spring between the maxillary incisors and the first molar and measured it when the coil spring produced pull force of 50 g using force gauge, and drew the first molar of maxillary incisors to move nearly by mesiocclusion. After cleaning the teeth surface around the ligature wire, fixed the enamel adhesive around the ligature wire through coating fixation. Our work injected Suxingling (0.4 mL/kg) intramuscularly to wake up rats. The pull process lasted for 21 days.


### 3.2. The Orthodontic Tooth Model during Retention Stage

After 21 days, our work allocated the above 80 rats into two groups, the physiological saline group (SAL group) and the atorvastatin group (ATV group), with the remaining 10 being the control group (Sham group). The two groups were allocated into four groups: control group, 7d group, 14d group, and 21d group (n=10). In addition, the left side of each rat was the maintained side, and the right side was the nonmaintained side: on the maxillary arch of the retention side, our team installed 0.2-mm orthodontic ligature wire, banded it to the retention device of the first molar and two central incisors of the left side, and fixed it, while the nonmaintained side remained the same; after waking up, fed them 7d, 14d, and 21d, respectively.


### 3.3. Administration Mode

The SAL group received 0.1 mL physiological saline per day through tube feeding. Rats in the ATV group received 15 mg/kg atorvastatin per day through tube feeding. They received such treatment lasting 7d, 14d, and 21d, respectively, until death.


### 3.4. Serological Indicator Testing

Our team separated rat serums at each experimental point in time and measured the serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) content through a fully automated luminescent immunoanalystator; our work tested TRACP-5b, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (VitD3), adrenal glucocorticoid (GC), IL-11, and IL-17 expressions via the ELISA kit according to the instructions from the manufacturer.


### 3.5. Human TRAP Testing

Our team killed rats at each experimental point in time. Immediately we dissected part of the upper jaw and immersed it in 10% formalin buffer to fix 24 h. Our work desalinated the sample in 10% EDTA (pH 7) for 30d to 60d. Then our team dehydrated the sample and embedded in paraffin by a series of ethanol. We cut 15 cross sections at 5 mm and selected slices numbered 1, 5, 10, and 15 for TRAP staining. Tissue slices in trap were fixed in TRAP stationary liquid at 4°C for 30s to 3 min, dried slightly after water washing, sliced into TRAP incubation liquid, placed in a temperature tank of 37°C, soaked and stained for 45 to 60 min, stained with hematoxylin for 5 to 8 min or methyl green for 2 to 3 min after water washing, then dried, and finally conducted microscopic examination.


### 3.6. Total RNA Extraction and qRT-PCR

After killing each group of rats, our team removed the root and pulp tissue and quickly placed it in liquid nitrogen for preservation. After taking appropriate amount of tissue in liquid nitrogen for grinding, we added 1 mL TRIzol, mixed them, and stood for 5 min. Later we added 200μL chloroform to shake it and conducted centrifugation at 4°C and 12000 rpm for 10 min. Later we took out the supernatant, added isopropyl alcohol of the same volume, and stood it at room temperature for 10 min. At 4°C and 12000 rpm, we performed centrifugation for 15 min using the newly prepared 75% ethanol to clean the precipitation 2 times, added appropriate amount of DECC water to dissolve, and detected the concentration through NanoDrop sectrophotometer. Through http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/tools/primer-blast/, we online designed primers and synthesized them by Bioengineering (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.; RNAKL and GAPDH primer sequences are shown in Table 1. We applied RNAKL and GAPDH to synthesize cDNA in total RNA through random primers from RT Master Mix kits. Using SYBR Green Real-Time PCR Master Mix, our team performed qRT-PCR according to the solution from manufacturers and the ABI 7500 sequence detection system. The transcription level was evaluated with cycle threshold (Ct). The target amount standardized as an endogenous reference was obtained by 2-ΔΔCt.Table 1
Detected primer sequences of RNAKL and GAPDH.
NameSequencesRNAKL F5′-ACAGGTTTGCAGGACTCGAC-3′RANKL R5′-AACTCCTGAGAAGCGCTGTG-3′GAPDH F5′-AGTGCCAGCCTCGTCTCATA -3′GAPDH R5′-ACCAGCTTCCCATTCTCAGC -3′


### 3.7. Western Blotting

After killing rats in each group, our team took out the root and pulp tissue, quickly grounded into a homogenous slurry, added appropriate amount of cell lysate, at 4°C performed pyrolysis overnight, at 13,000 rpm centrifuged to extract the total protein, and determined the protein concentration BCA protein. We isolated the protein with 8% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) along and transferred it to a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane, which our members closed Tris-buffer saline with 5% skimmed milk powder as well as 0.1% Tween 20 and gently shook it overnight at 4°C using RNAKL, RANK, OPG, HMGC,R andβ-actin primary antibody, respectively. Later we incubated it with HLP-labeled secondary antibody at the end of primary antibody reaction, using ECL reagents to treat exposure detection proteins.


### 3.8. Statistics

Our work applied SPSS 20.0 to statistically process data, represented each set of data bymean±standarddeviation (x±s), and tested the intergroup comparison with t-test for separate sample. p<0.05 indicated that the difference was significant.


## 3.1. Orthodontic Tooth Model

In total 90 7-week-old Wistar male rats were modeled after one-week adaptive feeding in the laboratory. Rats after receiving sumianxin (0.25 mL/kg) were subject to anesthetic injection in hind leg muscle and fixed to the operating table. With the rats’ anterior teeth as a support, our team made a fixed trench of 0.5 mm in depth on the gingival margin of rats’ two-sided maxillary incisors with a high-speed turbodrill, placed an orthodontic ligature wire of 0.20 mm in length, and knotted the coil spring between the maxillary incisors and the first molar and measured it when the coil spring produced pull force of 50 g using force gauge, and drew the first molar of maxillary incisors to move nearly by mesiocclusion. After cleaning the teeth surface around the ligature wire, fixed the enamel adhesive around the ligature wire through coating fixation. Our work injected Suxingling (0.4 mL/kg) intramuscularly to wake up rats. The pull process lasted for 21 days.


## 3.2. The Orthodontic Tooth Model during Retention Stage

After 21 days, our work allocated the above 80 rats into two groups, the physiological saline group (SAL group) and the atorvastatin group (ATV group), with the remaining 10 being the control group (Sham group). The two groups were allocated into four groups: control group, 7d group, 14d group, and 21d group (n=10). In addition, the left side of each rat was the maintained side, and the right side was the nonmaintained side: on the maxillary arch of the retention side, our team installed 0.2-mm orthodontic ligature wire, banded it to the retention device of the first molar and two central incisors of the left side, and fixed it, while the nonmaintained side remained the same; after waking up, fed them 7d, 14d, and 21d, respectively.


## 3.3. Administration Mode

The SAL group received 0.1 mL physiological saline per day through tube feeding. Rats in the ATV group received 15 mg/kg atorvastatin per day through tube feeding. They received such treatment lasting 7d, 14d, and 21d, respectively, until death.


## 3.4. Serological Indicator Testing

Our team separated rat serums at each experimental point in time and measured the serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) content through a fully automated luminescent immunoanalystator; our work tested TRACP-5b, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (VitD3), adrenal glucocorticoid (GC), IL-11, and IL-17 expressions via the ELISA kit according to the instructions from the manufacturer.


## 3.5. Human TRAP Testing

Our team killed rats at each experimental point in time. Immediately we dissected part of the upper jaw and immersed it in 10% formalin buffer to fix 24 h. Our work desalinated the sample in 10% EDTA (pH 7) for 30d to 60d. Then our team dehydrated the sample and embedded in paraffin by a series of ethanol. We cut 15 cross sections at 5 mm and selected slices numbered 1, 5, 10, and 15 for TRAP staining. Tissue slices in trap were fixed in TRAP stationary liquid at 4°C for 30s to 3 min, dried slightly after water washing, sliced into TRAP incubation liquid, placed in a temperature tank of 37°C, soaked and stained for 45 to 60 min, stained with hematoxylin for 5 to 8 min or methyl green for 2 to 3 min after water washing, then dried, and finally conducted microscopic examination.


## 3.6. Total RNA Extraction and qRT-PCR

After killing each group of rats, our team removed the root and pulp tissue and quickly placed it in liquid nitrogen for preservation. After taking appropriate amount of tissue in liquid nitrogen for grinding, we added 1 mL TRIzol, mixed them, and stood for 5 min. Later we added 200μL chloroform to shake it and conducted centrifugation at 4°C and 12000 rpm for 10 min. Later we took out the supernatant, added isopropyl alcohol of the same volume, and stood it at room temperature for 10 min. At 4°C and 12000 rpm, we performed centrifugation for 15 min using the newly prepared 75% ethanol to clean the precipitation 2 times, added appropriate amount of DECC water to dissolve, and detected the concentration through NanoDrop sectrophotometer. Through http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/tools/primer-blast/, we online designed primers and synthesized them by Bioengineering (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.; RNAKL and GAPDH primer sequences are shown in Table 1. We applied RNAKL and GAPDH to synthesize cDNA in total RNA through random primers from RT Master Mix kits. Using SYBR Green Real-Time PCR Master Mix, our team performed qRT-PCR according to the solution from manufacturers and the ABI 7500 sequence detection system. The transcription level was evaluated with cycle threshold (Ct). The target amount standardized as an endogenous reference was obtained by 2-ΔΔCt.Table 1
Detected primer sequences of RNAKL and GAPDH.
NameSequencesRNAKL F5′-ACAGGTTTGCAGGACTCGAC-3′RANKL R5′-AACTCCTGAGAAGCGCTGTG-3′GAPDH F5′-AGTGCCAGCCTCGTCTCATA -3′GAPDH R5′-ACCAGCTTCCCATTCTCAGC -3′


## 3.7. Western Blotting

After killing rats in each group, our team took out the root and pulp tissue, quickly grounded into a homogenous slurry, added appropriate amount of cell lysate, at 4°C performed pyrolysis overnight, at 13,000 rpm centrifuged to extract the total protein, and determined the protein concentration BCA protein. We isolated the protein with 8% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) along and transferred it to a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane, which our members closed Tris-buffer saline with 5% skimmed milk powder as well as 0.1% Tween 20 and gently shook it overnight at 4°C using RNAKL, RANK, OPG, HMGC,R andβ-actin primary antibody, respectively. Later we incubated it with HLP-labeled secondary antibody at the end of primary antibody reaction, using ECL reagents to treat exposure detection proteins.


## 3.8. Statistics

Our work applied SPSS 20.0 to statistically process data, represented each set of data bymean±standarddeviation (x±s), and tested the intergroup comparison with t-test for separate sample. p<0.05 indicated that the difference was significant.


## 4. Results

### 4.1. Changes in the Relapse Distance after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

After the 21-d retention-stage orthodontic tooth, our team measured the distance between the mesiocclusion ditch of the first molar and that of the second molar of the upper jaw of rats with maintained side and nonmaintained side, respectively. As shown in Figure1, the relapse distance of rats in the SAL+NM group was 0.30±0.07 mm, signally higher than 0.23±0.08 mm (p<0.05± in the ATV + NM group). In addition, the first molar recurrence distance of the SAL+M group and the ATV + M group was 0.13±0.05 mm and 0.12±0.08 mm, respectively, with no significant difference (p>0.05).Figure 1
The first molar distance at the end of the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in rats. SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin; NM: nonmaintained side; M: maintained side.


### 4.2. The Number of Osteoclasts during the Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Subsequently, our team examined the impact of ATV on the number of osteoclasts by TRAP staining. As shown in Figure2, the number of osteoclasts in rats treated with ATV for 7 days decreased visually (p<0.05) in comparison to rats not given ATV, which then gradually returned to near that of the SAL group on 14th and 21st.Figure 2
Comparing the number of osteoclasts during orthodontic tooth movement in rats. (a) TRAP staining map of maxillary teeth in the Sham group; (b) TRAP staining map of maxillary teeth after 21d on the nonmaintained side in the SAL group; (c) TRAP staining map of maxillary teeth after 21d on the nonmaintained side in the ATV group; (d) Comparing the number of osteoclasts on the nonmaintained side during retention stage at 7d, 14d, and 21d in the SAL group and ATV group, respectively. Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin; NM: nonmaintained side; M: maintained side.
(a)(b)(c)(d)


### 4.3. The TRACP-5b Content in the Serum amidst the Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

ELISA test results showed that after ATV treatment, the TRACP-5b content in serum at 7d and 14d during the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in the ATV group was signally lower than that of SAL groups. Subsequently, at 21d it returned to the SAL group level (p<0.05) (Figure 3).Figure 3
Elisa was used to detect TRACP-5b content in serum amidst retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin.


### 4.4. The Impact of Atorvastatin on Inflammation during Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

ELISA test results showed that after ATV treatment, PTH, VitD3, GC, and IL-1 along with IL-17 in expression levels during the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement at 7d and 14d in the ATV group were visually lower than those in the SAL group (p<0.05) and returned to near the SAL group levels at 21d. In addition, IL-11 level in the ATV group was signally higher at 7d than that of the SAL group, recovering to close SAL levels at 14d and 21d (p<0.05) (Figure 4).Figure 4
ELISA was applied to detect PTH, VitD3, GC, IL-1, and IL-11 as well as IL-17 levels in serum during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin.


### 4.5. RANKL Gene Expression during Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Next, our team examined the impact of ATV on RANKL’s mRNA. As shown in Figure5(a), there was no significant difference between the ATV group on the maintained side during retention stage in rats and the RANKL gene expression in the SAL group (p>0.05). But RANKL gene expression on the nonmaintained side after orthodontic tooth of the ATV group at 7d and 14d was visually lower than that of the SAL group (p<05) (Figure 5(b)).Figure 5
qRT-PCR was applied to detect RANKL gene expression during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. (a) Maintained side; (b) nonmaintained side; Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin; NM: nonmaintained side; M: maintained side.
(a)(b)


### 4.6. RANKL Protein Expression during Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Subsequently, RANKL protein expression during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement was detected by Western Blot. As shown in Figures6(a) and 6(b), there was no significant difference between the RANKL protein expression of the ATV group along with SAL group on the maintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement (p>0.05), while the RANKL protein expression on the nonmaintained side after orthodontic tooth movement at 7d and 14d was obviously lower than that of the SAL group (p<05) (Figures 6(c) and 6(d)).Figure 6
Western Blot was applied to detect RANKL protein expression during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. (a) RANKL protein expression on the maintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in the ATV and SAL group; (b) the relative expression column chart of RANKL protein expression on the maintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in the ATV and SAL group. (c) RANKL protein expression on the nonmaintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in the ATV and SAL group; (d) the relative expression column chart of RANKL protein expression on the nonmaintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in the ATV and SAL group; Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin; NM: the nonmaintained side; M: maintained side.
(a)(b)(c)(d)


### 4.7. The Impact of ATV on OPG-RANKL-RANK Axis and Related Protein Expression during Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

RANKL and RANK are the most important pairs of ligand and receptor in osteoclast signaling systems. They act pivotally in development of bone reconstruction, immunity, vascular disease, and glands. In addition, OPG has been found to act importantly in preventing osteoporosis. Next, our team examined the impact of ATV treatment on OPG-RANKL-RANK axis protein expression in nonmaintained side rats for 7d. As shown in Figure7, in comparison with the control group, OPG as well as RANK protein expression levels in the SAL group increased visually (p<0.05), while OPG protein in rats elevated further after ATV treatment, and RANK protein was signally inhibited (p<0.05). In addition, in the SAL group HMGCR expression had not been signally affected in comparison to the control group. After ATV treatment, HMGCR expression was visually lower than that of the SAL group (p<0.05).Figure 7
Western Blot was applied to detect OPG, RANK, and HMGCR protein expression on the nonmaintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. (a) Western Blot detection chart; (b) the relative expression column chart of protein expression; Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin.
(a)(b)


## 4.1. Changes in the Relapse Distance after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

After the 21-d retention-stage orthodontic tooth, our team measured the distance between the mesiocclusion ditch of the first molar and that of the second molar of the upper jaw of rats with maintained side and nonmaintained side, respectively. As shown in Figure1, the relapse distance of rats in the SAL+NM group was 0.30±0.07 mm, signally higher than 0.23±0.08 mm (p<0.05± in the ATV + NM group). In addition, the first molar recurrence distance of the SAL+M group and the ATV + M group was 0.13±0.05 mm and 0.12±0.08 mm, respectively, with no significant difference (p>0.05).Figure 1
The first molar distance at the end of the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in rats. SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin; NM: nonmaintained side; M: maintained side.


## 4.2. The Number of Osteoclasts during the Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Subsequently, our team examined the impact of ATV on the number of osteoclasts by TRAP staining. As shown in Figure2, the number of osteoclasts in rats treated with ATV for 7 days decreased visually (p<0.05) in comparison to rats not given ATV, which then gradually returned to near that of the SAL group on 14th and 21st.Figure 2
Comparing the number of osteoclasts during orthodontic tooth movement in rats. (a) TRAP staining map of maxillary teeth in the Sham group; (b) TRAP staining map of maxillary teeth after 21d on the nonmaintained side in the SAL group; (c) TRAP staining map of maxillary teeth after 21d on the nonmaintained side in the ATV group; (d) Comparing the number of osteoclasts on the nonmaintained side during retention stage at 7d, 14d, and 21d in the SAL group and ATV group, respectively. Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin; NM: nonmaintained side; M: maintained side.
(a)(b)(c)(d)


## 4.3. The TRACP-5b Content in the Serum amidst the Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

ELISA test results showed that after ATV treatment, the TRACP-5b content in serum at 7d and 14d during the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in the ATV group was signally lower than that of SAL groups. Subsequently, at 21d it returned to the SAL group level (p<0.05) (Figure 3).Figure 3
Elisa was used to detect TRACP-5b content in serum amidst retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin.


## 4.4. The Impact of Atorvastatin on Inflammation during Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

ELISA test results showed that after ATV treatment, PTH, VitD3, GC, and IL-1 along with IL-17 in expression levels during the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement at 7d and 14d in the ATV group were visually lower than those in the SAL group (p<0.05) and returned to near the SAL group levels at 21d. In addition, IL-11 level in the ATV group was signally higher at 7d than that of the SAL group, recovering to close SAL levels at 14d and 21d (p<0.05) (Figure 4).Figure 4
ELISA was applied to detect PTH, VitD3, GC, IL-1, and IL-11 as well as IL-17 levels in serum during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin.


## 4.5. RANKL Gene Expression during Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Next, our team examined the impact of ATV on RANKL’s mRNA. As shown in Figure5(a), there was no significant difference between the ATV group on the maintained side during retention stage in rats and the RANKL gene expression in the SAL group (p>0.05). But RANKL gene expression on the nonmaintained side after orthodontic tooth of the ATV group at 7d and 14d was visually lower than that of the SAL group (p<05) (Figure 5(b)).Figure 5
qRT-PCR was applied to detect RANKL gene expression during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. (a) Maintained side; (b) nonmaintained side; Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin; NM: nonmaintained side; M: maintained side.
(a)(b)


## 4.6. RANKL Protein Expression during Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Subsequently, RANKL protein expression during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement was detected by Western Blot. As shown in Figures6(a) and 6(b), there was no significant difference between the RANKL protein expression of the ATV group along with SAL group on the maintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement (p>0.05), while the RANKL protein expression on the nonmaintained side after orthodontic tooth movement at 7d and 14d was obviously lower than that of the SAL group (p<05) (Figures 6(c) and 6(d)).Figure 6
Western Blot was applied to detect RANKL protein expression during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. (a) RANKL protein expression on the maintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in the ATV and SAL group; (b) the relative expression column chart of RANKL protein expression on the maintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in the ATV and SAL group. (c) RANKL protein expression on the nonmaintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in the ATV and SAL group; (d) the relative expression column chart of RANKL protein expression on the nonmaintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement in the ATV and SAL group; Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin; NM: the nonmaintained side; M: maintained side.
(a)(b)(c)(d)


## 4.7. The Impact of ATV on OPG-RANKL-RANK Axis and Related Protein Expression during Retention Stage after Orthodontic Tooth Movement

RANKL and RANK are the most important pairs of ligand and receptor in osteoclast signaling systems. They act pivotally in development of bone reconstruction, immunity, vascular disease, and glands. In addition, OPG has been found to act importantly in preventing osteoporosis. Next, our team examined the impact of ATV treatment on OPG-RANKL-RANK axis protein expression in nonmaintained side rats for 7d. As shown in Figure7, in comparison with the control group, OPG as well as RANK protein expression levels in the SAL group increased visually (p<0.05), while OPG protein in rats elevated further after ATV treatment, and RANK protein was signally inhibited (p<0.05). In addition, in the SAL group HMGCR expression had not been signally affected in comparison to the control group. After ATV treatment, HMGCR expression was visually lower than that of the SAL group (p<0.05).Figure 7
Western Blot was applied to detect OPG, RANK, and HMGCR protein expression on the nonmaintained side during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. (a) Western Blot detection chart; (b) the relative expression column chart of protein expression; Control: retention stage control; SAL: physiological saline; ATV: atorvastatin.
(a)(b)


## 5. Discussion

Statins have been widely applied to prevent orthodontic relapse, and drugs such as simvastatin, atorvastatin, fluvastatin, and lovastatin are now widely used in adults [11, 12]. Atorvastatin is a synthetic HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor that has got approval from the U.S. FDA for use in children [10]. Studies by MirHashemi et al. held that atorvastatin administration (5 mg/kg through tube feeding) reduced the rate of tooth movement in rats [8]. Similar to the previous studies, our work drugged orthodontic rats with atorvastatin, which imposed a visual inhibitory impact on the moving distance of teeth during the retention stage. In addition, atorvastatin dosing has a certain inflammatory inhibitory effect during the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement.Further, our team probed into the cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with bone transformation during the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. Wellington et al. found that the pressurized part of the orthodontic tooth collected osteoclasts, and on the third day of the periodontal membrane (PDL) and bone surface, a large number of bone-breaking cells were observed, when the number of osteoclasts in the bone marrow peaked [13]. In our analysis of osteoclasts in rats during the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement, we found a significant reduction in its number in the ATV group on the nonmaintained side at 7d. Similar to the findings of Gabriel et al., they found that atorvastatin induced OPG overexpression and reduced recurrence after orthodontic tooth movement, a phenomenon associated with a decrease in osteoclasts counts [10]. In addition, TRACP-5b is a bone absorption marker; serological test results show that TRACP-5b expression in the ATV group signally reduced, indicating that statins are available to enhance bone-forming effects and inhibit bone absorption, which may be an important physiological mechanism to reduce orthodontic recurrence.The receptor activator (RANKL) of the NF-B ligand is expressed in the form of membrane-binding proteins on the surface of osteoblasts, bone cells, and bone marrow substrates, and in combination with osteoclasts and the NF-B receptor activator (RANK) on their precursor surface, regulating the differentiation of precursor-to-multinucleated osteoclasts and osteoclast activation, further leading to increased bone absorption [14]. RANKL is an effective bone-breaking cytokine that binds to macrophage collection stimulation factor (M-CSF) to induce osteoclast formation in vitro. By detecting THEKL expression in rats receiving atorvastatin during the retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement, it was found that the RANKL gene and protein expression were visually reduced [15].With the aim to further analyze the mechanism of atorvastatin, RANKL, and their targets, our team detected OPG/RANKL/RANK system and HMGCR expression. Atorvastatin inhibits THEMGCR protein expression in periodontal tissue, which can indicate its function in periodontal tissue during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement. OPG is a TNF receptor super-family member that is produced by various cell types, like bone marrow substation cells and osteoblasts, and block bone-breaking precursor [10] in the fusion/differentiation phase by binding TONKL. The study found that in animal models with OPG defects, extensive vascular calcification was observed due to the over-activity RANK-RANK-NF-B axis, which also promoted the activity of bone morphology proteins 2 and 4 (BMP2 and BMP4), resulting in smooth muscle cell-to-bone transformation [16]. Jin et al. have found that OPG is a soluble bait receptor of RANKL that prevents osteoclast formation through inhibiting the binding of RANKL to RANK [17]. At the same time, the relevant research suggests that the functional coordination of OPG/RANKL/RANK system seems to not only help the alveolar remodeling, but the absorption and physiological root absorption during orthodontic tooth movement [18]. Han et al. observed that simvastatin is available to minimize tooth displacement, which is linked with a decrease in RANKL and an increase in OPG expression, and suggested an effective drug to stimulate new bone formation, thereby speeding up teeth stability and assisting during fixed period [19]. Our experimental results show that orthodontic teeth in rats given atorvastatin can increase OPG expression and lower RANK expression.In summary, the atorvastatin-given rats during retention stage after orthodontic tooth movement can inhibit RANKL expression and may function through the OPG/RANKL/RANK system.



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*Source: 7416572-2022-07-14.xml*