Upregulation of senescence‐associated gene expression levels in human gingival tissue affected by periodontitis

Biological stressors cause cells to age, known as cellular senescence. These senescent cells play a significant role in age-related diseases and are considered a key target for treatment. Periodontitis, a gum disease, damages the tissues that support teeth and is a leading cause of tooth loss worldwide. When people get older, they have a higher chance of being affected by periodontitis. Studies using animal models have shown that the accumulation of senescent cells may be driving periodontitis in older individuals. Therefore, targeting senescent cells may be a potential treatment approach for periodontitis. However, clinical evidence showing the accumulation of senescent cells in gum tissue affected with periodontitis is limited. This study aimed to investigate whether periodontitis is accompanied by senescent cell accumulation in the gum tissue by examining gene expression in tissues with and without periodontitis. A total of 54 human gum tissues (27 healthy and 27 diseased) were collected during gum surgeries. Our analysis found that four genes related to cellular senescence (p16, TP53, MMP2, and MMP14) were significantly higher in samples affected with periodontitis. This indicates that senescent cells accumulate in diseased gum tissue. Additionally, results from an animal experiment suggested that being affected with gum disease may be a mechanism accelerating cellular aging in the gum tissue. The findings support the concept that targeting senescent cells would be an effective approach to treat gum disease.