The effects of thyroid and reproductive hormones on the viability of human buccal epithelium.

Recent findings have shown that estrogen receptors were localized in stromal cells in the oral cavity. The role of physiological doses of growth promoting hormones such as thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and estrogen have not exclusively studied. This investigation identifies the cytology and biochemical response of buccal epithelial in the presence of estrogen and TSH at 24, 48, and 72 hr of incubation. The cells were obtained from pre, postmenopausal women and men. The cells were seeded at a density of 10,000 cells per well and aseptic techniques, morphological evaluation, biochemical analysis (MDA), and data analysis were performed following standard lab protocols. Results of this investigation revealed that: (i) there was an initial increase in total protein observed in cells treated with TSH in comparison to the control and estrogen treated cells. This trend continued for 48 hours, and no statistical differences were observed at the 72 hour phase, (ii) there was an initial decrease in MDA levels in cells treated with TSH, however, cellular damage was evident at 48 and 72 hours phases in comparison to estrogen and control groups, (iii) morphological evaluation demonstrated that there were structural changes associated with TSH treatment. These include aggregates, nuclear shriveling and lack of cellular boundaries. Estrogen treatment showed no structural alteration throughout the experiment.