The Role of Macrophage Efferocytosis in the Pathogenesis of Apical Periodontitis

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 25; no. 7; p. 3854
• Main Authors: Guan, Xiaoyue, Wang, Yuting, Li, Wenlan, Mu, Wenli, Tang, Yifei, Wang, Mingfei, Seyam, Abdelrahman, Yang, Yao, Pan, Lifei, Hou, Tiezhou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-04-2024
• Subjects: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Analysis; animal model; apical periodontitis; Apoptosis; ARA290; Bacterial infections; Development and progression; Efferocytosis; Efficiency; Endodontics; Gum disease; Health aspects; Humans; Inflammation; Inflammatory diseases; Investigations; Kinases; Localization; macrophage efferocytosis; Macrophages; Neutrophils; Pathogenesis; Periapical Periodontitis; Periapical Tissue; Periodontitis; Japan; China; macrophage efferocytosis; animal model; apical periodontitis; ARA290
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073854

Macrophages (Mφs) play a crucial role in the homeostasis of the periapical immune micro-environment caused by bacterial infection. Mφ efferocytosis has been demonstrated to promote the resolution of multiple infected diseases via accelerating Mφ polarization into M2 type. However, the Mφ efferocytosis-apical periodontitis (AP) relationship has not been elucidated yet. This study aimed to explore the role of Mφ efferocytosis in the pathogenesis of AP. Clinical specimens were collected to determine the involvement of Mφ efferocytosis in the periapical region via immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence staining. For a further understanding of the moderator effect of Mφ efferocytosis in the pathogenesis of AP, both an in vitro AP model and in vivo AP model were treated with ARA290, a Mφ efferocytosis agonist. Histological staining, micro-ct, flow cytometry, RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were performed to detect the inflammatory status, alveolar bone loss and related markers in AP models. The data showed that Mφ efferocytosis is observed in the periapical tissues and enhancing the Mφ efferocytosis ability could effectively promote AP resolution via facilitating M2 Mφ polarization. Collectively, our study demonstrates the functional importance of Mφ efferocytosis in AP pathology and highlights that accelerating Mφ efferocytosis via ARA290 could serve as an adjuvant therapeutic strategy for AP.