Effects of low-level Er:YAG laser irradiation on proliferation and gene expression in primary gingival fibroblasts isolated from mouse maxilla

Abstract

We investigated the effects of low-level Er:YAG laser irradiation on proliferation and alternations in early gene expression of gingival fibroblasts. Mice primary gingival fibroblasts were irradiated with an Er:YAG laser (1.8, 3.9, and 5.8 J/cm² ). Irradiation at 3.9 J/cm² promoted cell proliferation without significant changes in lactate dehydrogenase or Hspa1a expression. Three hours after irradiation at 3.9 J/cm² , the Fn1 expression level was significantly increased. RNA-seq identified 15 differentially expressed genes between irradiated and non-irradiated cells, some of which belonged to immediate early genes (IEGs). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis indicated MAPK pathway enhancement, and gene set enrichment analysis showed enrichment in the TGF-β signaling gene set. Enhanced proliferation via laser irradiation disappeared upon inhibition of Dusp4, Dusp5, and Tgfr1 expression. Low-level Er:YAG laser irradiation, especially at 3.9 J/cm² without a major temperature elevation, enhanced fibroblast proliferation, via TGF-β and the MAPK signaling pathway following IEG expression.

Keywords: Er:YAG laser; RNA-seq; gene expression; gingival fibroblasts; proliferation.