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IFN-Gamma and IL-4 in Saliva of Patients with Oral Lichen Planus: A Study in an Ethnic Chinese Population

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Abstract

Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) represent T helper 1 (Th1) and T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines involved in oral lichen planus (OLP), respectively. This study was to investigate the expression profile of IFN-γ and IL-4 in saliva of OLP patients. Seventy-nine ethnic Chinese patients with OLP were recruited for this study, together with 41 age–sex-matched healthy volunteers served as control group. IFN-γ and IL-4 levels in whole unstimulated saliva were screened by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. OLP patient showed a low-level IFN-γ but high-level IL-4 expression profile in saliva, with a lower ratio of salivary IFN-γ/IL-4 compared to healthy controls. With regards to subtypes, salivary IL-4 level in erythematous/ulcerative group was significantly higher than that in reticular group. Imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokines with Th2-predominant profile in saliva may be involved in OLP. Salivary IL-4 level may be a fine biomarker reflecting the severity of OLP.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 30772424, 30672323) and Scientific Research Foundation for Medicine and Health from Health Bureau of Zhejiang Province (No. 2007A132). We appreciate Dr. Shu Yang and Keli Chen from West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Peoples’ Republic of China for their statistic analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China College of Stomatology, Sichuan University, No. 14, Sec. 3, Renminnan Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China

    Wenzhao Liu, Hongxia Dan, Zhi Wang, Lu Jiang, Yu Zhou, Qianming Chen & Xin Zeng

  2. School & Hospital of Stomatology, Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325027, China

    Wenzhao Liu

  3. Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Medical School of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310001, China

    Man Zhao

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  1. Wenzhao Liu
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Correspondence to Xin Zeng.

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Liu, W., Dan, H., Wang, Z. et al. IFN-Gamma and IL-4 in Saliva of Patients with Oral Lichen Planus: A Study in an Ethnic Chinese Population. Inflammation 32, 176–181 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-009-9118-2

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