Antimicrobial Peptides and Biomarkers Induced by Ultraviolet Irradiation Have the Potential to Reduce Endodontic Inflammation and Facilitate Tissue Healing

Background: Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation can modulate host immune responses and this approach is a novel application for treating endodontic infections and inflammation in root canals. Methods: A dataset of UV-induced molecules was compiled from a literature search. A subset of this dataset was used to calculate expression log2 ratios of endodontic tissue molecules from HEPM cells and gingival fibroblasts after 255, 405, and 255/405 nm UV irradiation. Both datasets were analyzed using ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA, Qiagen, Germantown, MD, USA). Statistical significance was calculated using Fisher’s exact test and z-scores were calculated for IPA comparison analysis. Results: The dataset of 32 UV-induced molecules contained 9 antimicrobial peptides, 10 cytokines, 6 growth factors, 3 enzymes, 2 transmembrane receptors, and 2 transcription regulators. These molecules were in the IPA canonical pathway annotations for the wound healing signaling pathway (9/32, p = 3.22 × 10−11) and communication between immune cells (6/32, p = 8.74 × 10−11). In the IPA disease and function annotations, the 32 molecules were associated with an antimicrobial response, cell-to-cell signaling and interaction, cellular movement, hematological system development and function, immune cell trafficking, and inflammatory response. In IPA comparison analysis of the 13 molecules, the predicted activation or inhibition of pathways depended upon the cell type exposed, the wavelength of the UV irradiation used, and the time after exposure. Conclusions: UV irradiation activates and inhibits cellular pathways and immune functions. These results suggested that UV irradiation can activate innate and adaptive immune responses, which may supplement endodontic procedures to reduce infection, inflammation, and pain and assist tissues to heal.