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Updated: Aug 30, 2025
Isolation, Characterization and Functional Examination of the Gingival Immune Cell Network
Published on: February 16, 2016
Whole-transcriptome analysis of periodontal tissue and construction of immune-related competitive endogenous RNA
Quanquan Zhao1, Jing Wen1, Xiangying Ouyang2
1Department of Periodontology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, National Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Peking University, 22 Zhongguancun South Avenue, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China.
Background:
In periodontitis, noncoding RNAs may play a regulatory role in the immune microenvironment through competitive endogenous RNA. We aimed to profile noncoding RNA expression and construct immune-related ceRNA network in periodontitis.
Methods:
Five inflamed periodontal tissue and five healthy gingivae were collected for whole-transcriptome sequencing. Differential gene, functional enrichment, and protein-protein interaction network analysis were performed to explore the function of differentially expressed genes. CIBERSORTx was used to analyze level of immune cell infiltration in the periodontal tissue. An immune-related competitive endogenous RNA network was constructed and expression of key regulators in the network was validated.
Results:
Compared with healthy gingiva, 200 mRNAs, 90 long noncoding RNAs, 65 microRNAs, and 518 circular RNAs were differentially expressed, and cell chemotaxis was significantly enhanced in inflamed periodontal tissue. Immune cell infiltration analysis showed that neutrophils, macrophages M1, T follicular helper cells, and naive B cells were significantly increased in periodontitis. Key regulators including JUN, FOS, THBS1, KLF2, WIF1, were identified and their expression was then validated.
Conclusion:
We constructed an immune-related competitive endogenous RNA network in periodontal tissue, which provided new insights into immune homeostasis in periodontitis and laid a foundation for further study of noncoding RNAs. Key regulators in this network may be promising targets for future periodontitis treatment.
