Gingival Overgrowth in Subjects under Immunosuppressive Regimens Based on Tacrolimus or Combination of Tacrolimus and Amlodipine

Tacrolimus has been used successfully to prevent acute rejection of renal transplantation. It inhibits calcineurin, a Ca2+ calmodulindependent phosphatase, which results in reduced expression of interleukin-2 by T lymphocytes [17]. Tacrolimus has been associated with many side effects including nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity and the induction of a diabetic state. Unlike cyclosporine A, studies that evaluated immunosuppressive agents based on tacrolimus failed to demonstrate gingival overgrowth within tacrolimus-based therapies [16,18], while others demonstrated a lower prevalence and severity of gingival overgrowth when compared with cyclosporine A-based therapies [15,19].