Common Cardiovascular Drugs Alter Gingival Fibroblasts

Objectives: More than 127 million Americans suffer from cardiovascular disease (CVD), a leading cause of death for both men and women. Pharmaceutical intervention relies on medications such as Amlodipine, Furosemide, and Lisinopril. While recognized for efficacy in cardiovascular care and well-documented systemic effects, their impact on oral tissue remains relatively uncharted. These popular CVD drugs are associated with oral challenges like xerostomia. However, the influence of CVD drugs on structural cells (eg. gingival fibroblasts) remains unclear despite the pivotal role these cells play in maintaining oral health and periodontal tissue integrity. This study aimed to examine the effects of these commonly prescribed cardiovascular drugs on periodontal cells.
Methods: Gingival fibroblasts were treated for up to 24 hours with CVD drugs at concentrations of 0-25 µM. The CVD drugs examined were Amlodipine, Furosemide, and Lisinopril, alone or in combination. Cell survival was assessed fluorometrically using Calcein-AM. Cell motility was evaluated using a scrape assay.
Results: Individually, CVD drugs were nontoxic at physiologically relevant concentrations. When combined, as often occurs in individual patients, there was no significant decrease in cell survival. However, Furosemide significantly reduced gingival fibroblast motility, unlike Amlodipine and Lisinopril. The combination of all three drugs also reduced cell motility.
Conclusions: Based on these results, while Lisinopril and Amlodipine had no detectable detrimental effects on these cells, Furosemide significantly inhibited cell motility. Therefore, Furosemide may be contraindicated for patients undergoing gingival surgical procedures.