Initial Insights into the NET-Associated ceRNA Network in Pulpitis: Transcriptomic and Functional Exploration.

Area of Science:

• Oral Biology
• Molecular Biology
• Immunology

Background:

• Pulpitis, an oral disease, is driven by microbial infections, with current treatments lacking specificity.
• Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and their competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks are key regulators in biological processes, offering new insights into pulpitis pathogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify novel therapeutic targets for pulpitis by investigating the role of ncRNAs and ceRNA networks.
• To construct and analyze a neutrophil extracellular trap (NET)-associated ceRNA regulatory network in dental pulpitis.

Main Methods:

• RNA sequencing of pulp tissues from healthy and pulpitis patients.
• Bioinformatics analysis to identify differentially expressed genes and construct protein-protein interaction networks.
• Establishment of a murine pulpitis model to assess the efficacy of NET inhibitors and in vitro validation of key ncRNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs).

Main Results:

• Identification of differentially expressed mRNAs, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs) in pulpitis.
• Significant activation of NET-related pathways and identification of SIGLEC9, C3, H2AC14, and H4C11 as core regulatory genes.
• Demonstration that NET inhibition alleviates pulpitis and necrosis, and construction of a NET-associated ceRNA network with four critical regulatory axes.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive NET-associated ceRNA network was constructed, elucidating molecular mechanisms in dental pulpitis.
• Novel evidence supports understanding pulpitis progression and provides a theoretical basis for targeted therapeutic strategies.