Transcriptome analysis of differentially expressed genes involved in the inflammageing status of gingiva in aged mice

Objective: To identify immune-inflammation-related genes related to susceptibility to periodontitis in the gingiva of aged mice with RNA sequencing.

Methods: Gingival samples from 18-month-old, 8-week-old healthy mice and 8-week-old mice with periodontitis were taken for RNA-seq. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were validated with qRT-PCR using mouse and human gingival samples.

Results: 977 (upregulated) and 1824 (downregulated) genes were identified in the old compared with the young mice. 14.2% were related to immune-inflammatory responses. This proportion of overlap (ageing and periodontitis)-DEGs was higher (48.4%). Enrichment analysis of overlap (ageing and periodontitis)-DEGs showed that the top five GO and KEGG terms were related to the immune-inflammatory responses, and disease analysis was more specific to periodontitis. The candidate genes of overlap (ageing and periodontitis)-DEGs selected by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network showed the higher match with clinical data sets. By qRT-PCR, nine candidate genes were identified as hub genes that are associated with susceptibility to periodontitis in the elderly, including CXCL3, CXCL5, CSF3, CSF3R, FPR1, IL1B, OSM, SERPINE1 and SELP.

Conclusion: Our studies provide insights into the mechanisms by which ageing affects the immune-inflammatory status of gingival tissues, thereby increasing the risk of periodontitis. It may become targets for future prevention of periodontitis.