Hemin Impairs Interferon Signaling in Periodontal Cells

Hemin has been shown to exert potent immunomodulatory effects in the oral microenvironment, yet its global transcriptional targets remain elusive. In this study, we performed high-throughput Bulk RNA-sequencing to investigate the transcriptomic reprogramming induced by Hemin in human oral epithelial cells (HSC-2) under inflammatory conditions. Our transcriptomic analysis revealed that Hemin effectively reversed the inflammatory signature induced by IL-1β and TNF-α. Specifically, Hemin treatment profoundly and selectively paralyzed the interferon (IFN)-stimulated gene axis (e.g., CXCL10, CXCL11), alongside triggering compensatory NRF2-driven redox stress defenses (e.g., HMOX1). These RNA-seq data provide a comprehensive landscape demonstrating Hemin's role as a targeted repressor that fundamentally uncouples JAK-STAT interferon responses.