IADR Abstract Archives
A Preliminary Study of ALDH1&2 Expression in Oral Lichen Planus
Objectives: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for initiating the process of carcinogenesis. The aim of our study is to examine the presence of CSCs through immunohistochemistry in oral lichen planus (OLP), oral leukoplakia and healthy tissues.
Methods: The study sample consisted of paraffin embedded epithelium samples from the archives of the Department of Oral Medicine/Pathology, School of Dentistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece during the period 2009-2019. The study sample contained 24 cases of OLP (14 erosive and 10 reticular) and 30 cases of oral leukoplakia, compared with 5 normal oral epithelium samples, derived from healthy epithelium, adjacent to fibromas, from other cases. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the School of Dentistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (protocol number 8/03.07.2019). The CSC related protein ALDH1&2 was examined with immunohistochemical methods (sc-166362, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Dallas, Texas, USA, 1:100). The samples were evaluated through a scale of 1 to 3 depending on the percentage of positive cells. The statistical analysis was performed with the Pearson Chi-square test and the significance level was set at p≤0.05.
Results: The cytoplasmic staining of ALDH1&2 was observed mostly in the basal layer of the epithelium. Statistically significantly higher expression of ALDH1&2 was observed in the Leukoplakia group than in the OLP group (p = 0.035) and in the Erosive OLP group than in the Mildly and Non-Dysplastic Leukoplakia group (p <0.001).
Conclusions: The Moderately and Severely Dysplastic Leukoplakia is a well-known potentially malignant oral disorder and expressed ALDH1&2 similarly to the Erosive Lichen planus group. The characteristic expression of ALDH1&2 in oral potentially malignant lesions of OLP suggests the presence of CSCs and might imply oral tumorigenesis even in lichenoid lesions.
Methods: The study sample consisted of paraffin embedded epithelium samples from the archives of the Department of Oral Medicine/Pathology, School of Dentistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece during the period 2009-2019. The study sample contained 24 cases of OLP (14 erosive and 10 reticular) and 30 cases of oral leukoplakia, compared with 5 normal oral epithelium samples, derived from healthy epithelium, adjacent to fibromas, from other cases. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the School of Dentistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (protocol number 8/03.07.2019). The CSC related protein ALDH1&2 was examined with immunohistochemical methods (sc-166362, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Dallas, Texas, USA, 1:100). The samples were evaluated through a scale of 1 to 3 depending on the percentage of positive cells. The statistical analysis was performed with the Pearson Chi-square test and the significance level was set at p≤0.05.
Results: The cytoplasmic staining of ALDH1&2 was observed mostly in the basal layer of the epithelium. Statistically significantly higher expression of ALDH1&2 was observed in the Leukoplakia group than in the OLP group (p = 0.035) and in the Erosive OLP group than in the Mildly and Non-Dysplastic Leukoplakia group (p <0.001).
Conclusions: The Moderately and Severely Dysplastic Leukoplakia is a well-known potentially malignant oral disorder and expressed ALDH1&2 similarly to the Erosive Lichen planus group. The characteristic expression of ALDH1&2 in oral potentially malignant lesions of OLP suggests the presence of CSCs and might imply oral tumorigenesis even in lichenoid lesions.