LAUSR

AIM The osseointegration of dental implants is impaired among patients with osteoporosis, leading to significantly higher failure rate. This study set out to investigate the potential effects of alpha-ketoglutarate (α-KG) on implant osseointegration in an osteoporotic mouse model. MATERIAL AND METHODS Female C57BL/6 mice received ovariectomy and bilateral first maxillary molars extraction at the age of seven weeks. Dental implants were inserted eight weeks after tooth extraction. In one of the groups, α-KG was administered via drinking water throughout the experiment period. Specimens were collected on post-implant day (PID) 3, 7, 14, and 21 for micro-CT, histological and immunohistochemical analyses. At the same time, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) treated with α-KG were interrogated for osteogenic differentiation, autophagic activity, and apoptosis. RESULTS α-KG supplement in drinking water resulted in enhanced dental implant osseointegration in ovariectomized mice, with upregulated osteogenic and autophagic activity and downregulated osteoclast differentiation and cell apoptosis. α-KG treated BMMSCs demonstrated enhanced activity in proliferation, survival, colony formation, osteogenic differentiation, as well as autophagic activity. CONCLUSIONS Systemic α-KG supplement effectively prevents the failure of dental implant osseointegration in mice under an osteoporotic state. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.