Siqi Huang, Qian Wang, Ziyu Chen, Guomiao Zhang, Ying Zheng
As a fundamental physiological process, sleep is essential for maintaining systemic homeostasis. Although sleep restriction (SR) has been shown to trigger a systemic inflammatory response, its specific impact on local pulpal inflammation remains poorly understood. In this preliminary study, we investigated the effects of SR on the inflammatory response and reparative capacity of dental pulp in a rat model. Immunohistochemistry and western blotting revealed that, even in intact pulp tissue, SR upregulated the expression of interleukin-6, increased the infiltration of neutrophils, and activated the nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathway. Subsequent investigations demonstrated that following dental pulp capping, SR provoked an exaggerated inflammatory response and impaired dental pulp repair, as evidenced by defective hard tissue formation and reduced collagen deposition. Taken together, these findings indicate that SR exacerbates the local inflammatory response within the dental pulp, thereby impairing its reparative potential.