Serum Interleukin-17 in patients with erosive and non-erosive oral lichen planus

Abstract

Lichen planus is a relatively common chronic mucocutaneous disease of unknown etiology. Regarding numerous studies on the immunologic factors involved in the etiology of lichen planus, the present study evaluated the serum interleukin-17 level in patients with erosive and non-erosive oral lichen planus. Materials and methods: this descriptive analytical study included 24 patients with erosive oral lichen planus (EOLP) and 24 patients with non-erosive oral lichen planus (NEOLP) and 24 healthy volunteered as control. Blood samples of the subjects underwent ELISA, using special kits, to determine interleukin-17 serum levels. Data was analyzed using with descriptive statistic, chi-square test and one-way ANOVA and Turkey post-hoc test with SPSS 16 software. Results: EOLP patients showed a high level of serum interleukin-17 compared with NEOLP patients and control groups. (ELOP = 184.12.41 pg/ml, NEOLP = 106.0910.78 pg/ml, control = 15.504.34 pg/ml P<0.001). Conclusion: high level of serum interleukin-17 in erosive oral lichen planus patients compared to non-erosive type and healthy individuals may be the reason for higher inflammation and atrophy in the erosive type.