Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a principal cause of mortality globally. About 170 million people were infected with HCV worldwide. Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population has released a nationwide strategy to address this pandemic. Sofosbuvir is a new combination of direct-acting antiviral drugs that doesn't require addition of interferon and is an effective alternative to interferon. The systemic effects of Sofosbuvir are being investigated nowadays; however, there aren't enough studies on its impact on oral health yet.
Aim of the study: To investigate the effect of Sofosbuvir on buccal mucosa in Albino rats.
Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight Adult male albino rats were randomly divided into two main groups, fourteen rats each. Each group was furtherly subdivided into two subgroups A & B according to the time of sacrifice which was 45 and 60 days respectively. Control group (GroupI) was given distilled water daily by gastric tube, and experimental group (GroupII) was given Sofosbuvir (40 mg/kg/day) dissolved in distilled water by gastric tube. Specimens were examined histologically and immunohistochemically.
Results: Group II showed vacuolization in the epithelium and signs of degeneration in both epithelium and connective tissue. Immunohistochemical results of GroupI showed strong positive nuclear immunoreactivity for Ki-67 in the epithelial cells and lamina properia, however GroupII showed weak nuclear immunoreactivity for Ki-67. Statistical results showed significant decrease in Ki-67 positive area percentage of SubgroupIIB when compared to SubgroupIIA.
Conclusion: Sofosbuvir administration resulted in degenerative changes in buccal mucosa and affected its proliferation, which was time dependent.