**Molecular Aspects of Drug-Induced Gingival Overgrowth: An In Vitro Study on Amlodipine and Gingival Fibroblasts**

**Dorina Lauritano 1,\*,**†**, Alberta Lucchese 2,**†**, Dario Di Stasio 2, Fedora Della Vella 3, Francesca Cura 4, Annalisa Palmieri 4 and Francesco Carinci 5**


Received: 2 April 2019; Accepted: 24 April 2019; Published: 25 April 2019

**Abstract:** Gingival overgrowth is a serious side e ffect that accompanies the use of amlodipine. Several conflicting theories have been proposed to explain the fibroblast's function in gingival overgrowth. To determine whether amlodipine alters the fibrotic response, we investigated its e ffects on treated gingival fibroblast gene expression as compared with untreated cells. Materials and Methods: Fibroblasts from ATCC ® Cell Lines were incubated with amlodipine. The gene expression levels of 12 genes belonging to the "Extracellular Matrix and Adhesion Molecules" pathway was investigated in treated fibroblasts cell culture, as compared with untreated cells, by real time PCR. Results: Most of the significant genes were up-regulated. (*CTNND2*, *COL4A1*, *ITGA2*, *ITGA7*, *MMP10*, *MMP11*, *MMP12*, *MMP26*) except for *COL7A1*, *LAMB1*, *MMP8*, and *MMP16*, which were down-regulated. Conclusion: These results seem to demonstrate that amlodipine has an e ffect on the extracellular matrix of gingival fibroblast. In the future, it would be interesting to understand the possible e ffect of the drug on fibroblasts of patients with amlodipine-induced gingival hyperplasia.

**Keywords:** Gingival overgrowth; gene expression; drugs; amlodipine
