Heme oxygenase-1: potential therapeutic targets for periodontitis

PeerJ. 2024 Oct 15:12:e18237. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18237. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Periodontitis is one of the most prevalent inflammatory disease worldwide, which affects 11% of the global population and is a major cause of tooth loss. Recently, oxidative stress (OS) has been found to be the pivital pathophysiological mechanism of periodontitis, and overactivated OS will lead to inflammation, apoptosis, pyroptosis and alveolar bone resorption. Interestingly, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), a rate-limiting enzyme in heme degradation, can exert antioxidant activites through its products-carbon monoxide (CO), Fe2+, biliverdin and bilirubin in the inflammatory microenvironment, thus exhibiting anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, anti-pyroptosis and bone homeostasis-regulating properties. In this review, particular focus is given to the role of HO-1 in periodontitis, including the spatial-temporal expression in periodental tissues and pathophysiological mechanisms of HO-1 in periodontitis, as well as the current therapeutic applications of HO-1 targeted drugs for periodontitis. This review aims to elucidate the potential applications of various HO-1 targeted drug therapy in the management of periodontitis, investigate the influence of diverse functional groups on HO-1 and periodontitis, and pave the way for the development of a new generation of therapeutics that will benefit patients suffering from periodontitis.

Keywords: Drug therapy; HO-1; Heme; Oxidative stress; Periodontitis.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antioxidants / pharmacology
  • Antioxidants / therapeutic use
  • Heme Oxygenase-1* / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy / methods
  • Oxidative Stress* / drug effects
  • Periodontitis* / drug therapy
  • Periodontitis* / enzymology
  • Periodontitis* / metabolism

Substances

  • Heme Oxygenase-1
  • Antioxidants

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Nanchong City-School Science and Technology Strategic Cooperation Project (NSMC20170301), the Natural Science Foundation of Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province(2023NSFSC0646), the Research Development Fund of the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College (No.2023PTZK006), the Youth Program of the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College (CBY22-QNA65), the Research and Development Program of the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College (2023JC048), the International Student Teaching Project of North Sichuan Medical College (ISJG2023-14), and the Open Lab Program of North Sichuan Medical College (PGJ2022004). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.