Comparative Analysis of Oral and Skin Keratinocytes Responses to Oxidative Stress

As the principal defenders in both tissues, keratinocytes may exhibit divergent responses to oxidative stress. However, most existing studies have examined skin or oral keratinocytes in isolation, with few comparative investigations of their tolerance, repair capacity, and antioxidant mechanisms under oxidative stress.

In this study, we systematically compared immortalized oral keratinocytes (TIGK) and skin keratinocytes (HaCaT) under hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)–induced oxidative stress. Functional analyses, including cell survival, ROS accumulation, wound healing, and proliferation recovery assays, were combined with transcriptomic profiling to evaluate differences in antioxidant and pro-oxidant systems. TIGK exhibited significantly higher survival rates, lower ROS accumulation, and superior migratory and proliferative recovery compared with HaCaT after oxidative insult.