Fibroblast Ferroptosis Aggravates Inflammation Response in Dental Pulpitis

作者：Xiaohui Lv, Xuan Chen, Lin Li, Li Yang, Liecong Lin, Bingtao Wang, Xiaoqi Chen, Qianzhou Jiang · 发表于：International Dental Journal · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.identj.2025.103927 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Ferroptosis and cancer prognosis、Endodontics and Root Canal Treatments、Bone and Dental Protein Studies

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Pulpitis, an inflammatory disorder of dental pulp tissue, represents a common clinical challenge in endodontic pathology. Emerging evidence implicates ferroptosis, a newly recognised iron-dependent form of regulated cell death, in the pathogenesis of inflammatory conditions. However, its functional significance in pulpal inflammation remains poorly characterised. The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the functional significance of ferroptosis in pulpitis; (2) identify the cell type undergoing ferroptosis; and (3) provide novel insights into therapeutic strategies. METHODS: We conducted an investigation combining clinical specimen analysis (human pulp tissues), single-cell transcriptomic profiling and experimental mice models. Co-localisation staining and single-cell RNA sequencing data were analysed to identify the cell type that underwent ferroptosis. Immunofluorescence co-localisation studies and scRNA-seq data analysis were used to identify cellular populations undergoing ferroptosis. The susceptibility of dental pulp fibroblasts to ferroptosis in an inflammatory condition was investigated using in vitro cell cultures. RESULTS: Our findings demonstrate that dental pulp fibroblasts undergo ferroptosis in pulpitis. Pulpitis-induced pro-inflammatory immune responses were characterised by a profound elevation of fibroblast-derived interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), which was attenuated by ferroptosis inhibition. Pulp inflamma...