Chloroquine and 3-Methyladenine Attenuates Periodontal Inflammation and Bone Loss in Experimental Periodontitis

Periodontitis is an inflammation characterized by alveolar bone resorption caused by imbalance in bone homeostasis. It is known that autophagy is related to inflammation and bone metabolism. However, whether autophagy inhibitors could be used for periodontitis in animal models remains unknown. We investigated the role of two classical autophagy inhibitors, 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and chloroquine (CQ), on the development of rat experimental periodontitis in terms of the bone loss (micro-CT), the number of inflammatory cells (hematoxylin and eosin staining), and the osteoclastic activity (tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining). Expression of autophagy-related genes and nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NF-κB p65) were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Expression of Beclin-1 and microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3 (LC3) were analyzed by Western blot. To further observe the effect of autophagy inhibitors on osteoclasts (OCs) in vitro, bone marrow–derived mononuclear macrophages were used. Together, these findings indicated that topical administration of 3-MA or CQ reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells and alveolar bone resorption in experimental periodontitis. Furthermore, 3-MA and CQ may attenuate activation of OCs by autophagy. Therefore, 3MA and CQ may have prophylactic and therapeutic potential for inflammation and alveolar bone resorption in periodontitis in the future.