Study of Vascular Cell AdhesionMolecule-1 [ VCAM-1] Expression in Oral Mucosal Tissues of Lichen Planus Patients

Abstract

Lichen planus is a cell mediated immunologic disease that occur on the skin and oral mucous membrane, and can affect about l-2o/o of the population. Clinically, oral lesions usually of bilateral distribution and affect buccal mucosa mainly, it may also involve other sites like tongue and gingiva. It appears in several different patterns including the papular, bullous erosive and atrophic types that are frequently accompanied by Wickhams' striae, which are elevated, fine, whitish or grayish lines.

The aetiology of OLP is still incompletely understood, however there is some evidence that the characteristic histopathological alterations in OLP depend on T-cell mediated immune response against the basal keratinocytes of the mucosa. Cell surface adhesion receptors are involved in the migration ofT­ cell and the interactions of activated T cells during immune response. Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is a member of immunoglobulin superfamily. It is one of the endothelial cell adhesion molecules involved in the mechanisms of migration of leukocytes towards sites of inflammation and the interactions of leukocytes during Immune responses. This study included 20 patients with oral atrophic and bullous erosive lichen planus attended the out-patients clinic of Oral Medicine and Periodontology and Oral Diagnosis, Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Cairo University. Six age and sex matched individuals were taken as controls. Buccal mucosal biopsies were taken from the OLP