Type and Portions of Peripheral Blood T Lymphocytes in Oral Lichen Planus

Background: Lichen planus is a disease with unknown etiology that affects the skin and the mucous membranes. Immune dysregulation in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus (OLP) is well-known phenomenon. Objectives: In this study, we compared the levels of the peripheral blood T lymphocytes between patients with OLP and control group. Patients and Methods: In this study, ۳۲ and ۱۶ patients respectively with and without OLP were recruited. Five milliliters of the participants' peripheral venous blood was drew in an EDTA-containing test tube and the levels of CD۳+, CD۴+, and CD۸+ cells, CD۴+/CD۸+ and CD۴+/ CD۳+ ratio were measured by means of two-color flow cytometry. The data were analyzed in SPPS v.۱۹ by employing Mann-Whitney U test. Results: There were no significant difference among the levels of CD۳+, CD۴+, and CD۸+ lymphocytes and the ratio of CD۴+/CD۸+ and CD۴+/CD۳+ lymphocytes between patients and control group; however, there was a significant difference between male and female patients with respect to the levels of CD۳+ and CD۴+ lymphocytes and the ratio of CD۴+/CD۸+ and CD۴+/CD۳+ lymphocytes. Conclusions: Our results confirm that only local immune mechanism known as skin-associated lymphoid tissue, not a systemic immunologic disorder, was involved in the OLP.