Salivary C3c and Fibrinogen in Patients With Oral Lichen Planus

Objectives:
Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease of immune-mediated pathogenesis affecting oral mucosa. In addition to histopathological analysis, presence of positive fibrinogen and C3 in the affected tissue analyzed by direct immunofluorescence has been used as a diagnostic tool for this disease. The aim of this study was to find out whether C3c and Fibrinogen in the saliva of patients with OLP could be used for the diagnosis of oral lichen planus.
Methods:
Whole saliva samples were retrieved from 33 patients with OLP and 33 age-sex matched normal subjects who attended the Advanced General Dentistry and Oral Medicine Clinic at the Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Thailand. Demographic data of patients were recorded. Immunoblot analyses were performed using antibodies against C3c, fibrinogen and alpha-amylase. The signals were developed by chemiluminescence and detected by blot scanner. The levels of each protein were compared using Image Studio version 4.0 (USA).
Results:
The majority of patients were female (28/33 or 84.8%). The mean ages of patients and controls were 53 ± 9.88 and 52 ± 10.65 years old, respectively. The saliva of OLP patients and age-sex matched normal subjects were paired individually. Primary results revealed that only 13 (39.39%) patients had increased levels of fibrinogen and C3c compared to age-sex matched controls.
Conclusions:
Our preliminary results indicated that salivary C3c and fibrinogen may not be utilized for the diagnosis of OLP. However, they may be used as protein markers to monitor the progression of this disease in the same individual after improvement of the disease. Cohort study is still needed to confirm this result.