Lack of Association between Oral Lichen Planus and Hepatitis B and C Virus Infection - a Report from Southeast Iran

Morphological Changes in the Oral Mucous Membrane in Viral Hepatitis C Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The objective was to reveal the most typical changes in oral mucosa in HCV patients and compare them with those in HCV negative patients. Methods: The study involved 96 HCV patients and 100 patients without HCV who applied to a dental clinic. The content of cytokines IL-2, IL-4, IL-10 and ɤ-INF in the oral fluid was determined by ELISA. Buccal mucosa and gums biopsies passed histological examination. An immunohistochemical study of mucous membrane biopsies was performed using monoclonal mouse antibodies to CD3+ and CD20+. Results: The HCV patients group included 96 (63.5% males), and the non-HCV group included 100 subjects (62.0% males) with lesions of the oral mucous membrane. The lesions of lips and oral mucosa were more frequent in HCV than in the non-HCV group—e.g., erosion (13.5% vs. 1%), cracks in the mouth corners (42.7% vs. 0%), changes in the oral mucosa surface (89.6% vs. 3.0%), hemorrhages (78.1% vs. 0%), etc. The pro-inflammatory IL-2 level was higher and anti-inflammatory IL-4 level was lower in HCV patients compared with those in the non-HCV group. Conclusions: Morphological changes developed in the microvasculature both worsen the tissue trophism and accelerate the healing with differentiation into coarse-fibrous connective tissue. Immunohistochemical findings indicated a decrease in local humoral immune response.

Oral lichen planus: a microbiologist point of view

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic disease of uncertain etiology, although it is generally considered as an immune-mediated disease that affects the mucous membranes and even the skin and nails. Over the years, this disease was attributed to a variety of causes, including different types of microorganisms. This review analyzes the present state of the art of the disease, from a microbiological point of view, while considering whether or not the possibility of a microbial origin for the disease can be supported. From the evidence presented here, OLP should be considered an immunological disease, as it was initially proposed, as opposed to an illness of microbiological origin. The different microorganisms so far described as putative disease-causing agents do not fulfill Koch’s postulates; they are, actually, not the cause, but a result of the disease that provides the right circumstances for microbial colonization. This means that, at this stage, and unless new data becomes available, no microorganism can be envisaged as the causative agent of lichen planus.