Premium
Elucidating the role of Cyclooxygenase‐2 in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus – an immunohistochemical study with supportive histochemical analysis
Author(s) -
Singh Pratyush,
Grover Jasleen,
Byatnal Aditi Amit,
Guddattu Vasudeva,
Radhakrishnan Raghu,
Solomon Monica Charlotte
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of oral pathology and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.887
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1600-0714
pISSN - 0904-2512
DOI - 10.1111/jop.12521
Subject(s) - pathogenesis , immunohistochemistry , oral lichen planus , pathology , medicine , cyclooxygenase , dermatology , biology , enzyme , biochemistry
Objective Oral lichen planus ( OLP ) is a chronic, inflammatory disorder that affects the oral mucous membrane. During an inflammatory response, several chemokines and cytokines are released by the cells of the immune system. Activation of MMP s, along with mast cell‐derived chymase and tryptase, degrades the basement membrane structural proteins, resulting in basement membrane breaks. Aim To investigate the association between the COX ‐2 expressions, presence of intact or degranulating mast cells within the connective tissue and the extent of basement membrane discontinuity in OLP cases. Methods This study included a total of 50 formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded specimens ( FFPE ) of histologically confirmed cases of idiopathic oral lichen planus. A retrospective cross‐sectional analysis was carried out by immunohistochemistry to study the epithelial expression of COX ‐2 and by the use of special stains such as toluidine blue and periodic acid–Schiff ( PAS ) to study the mast cell count and basement membrane changes in the oral mucosal tissue, respectively. Results There was a significant ( P = 0.03) association between the COX ‐2 expressions and mast cell count. As the intensity of COX ‐2 expression increased from mild to moderate or severe, the number of mast cell count almost doubled. Conclusion Interaction between upregulation of COX ‐2, mast cell and basement membrane sets a vicious cycle which relates to the chronic nature of the disease. Inhibitors of COX ‐2 may reduce the inflammatory process preceding the immune dysregulation in OLP .