Background: Diabetes mellitus has a deleterious effect on the offspring including a high tendency for abnormalities and a defected immune system. The current study was performed to investigate the effect of maternal diabetes on the development and the innervation of circumvallate tongue papillae in their offspring and the possible beneficial effect of turmeric administration to the diabetic mother in preventing the defective development.
Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on 60 pups from diabetic mother rats that were classified into 2 main groups: group I which included untreated diabetic mother rats and group II which included diabetic mother rats treated with 30 mg/kg turmeric by oral gavage. The pups were sacrificed after 3, 10 and 60 days. The circumvallate papillae were dissected and examined histologically, immunohistochemically for S100, histomorphometrically and by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for cytokeratin 8.
Results: The histopathological results revealed a deformed outline of the papillae in the untreated rats' offspring with a decreased number of well-formed taste buds, degenerative effects in Remak's ganglion and decreased innervation while treated rats' offspring revealed nearly normal histological structure for the circumvallate papilla and the underlying structures. Immunohistochemical results showed significant differences between untreated and turmeric treated groups in terms of S100 expression. CK8 gene expression results revealed a significant increase in the turmeric treated diabetic subgroups as compared to diabetic untreated subgroups at the same age.
Conclusion: Maternal diabetes has a degenerative effect on the taste system of the rat offspring including fewer taste buds with a deformed outline and defective innervation. Treating diabetic mothers with turmeric markedly improved the degenerative effect of diabetes on the offsprings' circumvallate papillae.