P-glycoprotein expression in oral lichen planus

Area of Science:

• Oral pathology
• Molecular biology
• Oncology

Background:

• Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an inflammatory condition with malignant potential.
• The multidrug resistance (mdr1) gene and its protein product, p-glycoprotein, are associated with stress and cancer.
• OLP presents as asymptomatic reticular or aggressive erosive forms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate p-glycoprotein expression in OLP.
• To compare expression levels in reticular OLP (untreated and antifungal-treated) and erosive OLP (untreated and corticosteroid-treated).

Main Methods:

• Semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (SQ-RTPCR) for mdr1 mRNA.
• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for p-glycoprotein.
• Analysis of biopsy tissue samples from OLP patients and healthy individuals.

Main Results:

• mdr1 mRNA and p-glycoprotein are overexpressed in OLP compared to healthy controls.
• Overexpression is significantly higher in erosive OLP than reticular OLP.
• Corticosteroid-treated erosive OLP showed higher expression than untreated erosive OLP.
• Expression levels correlate with disease severity.

Conclusions:

• OLP exhibits overexpression of mdr1 and p-glycoprotein, indicating potential for multidrug resistance.
• The erosive form of OLP has a higher risk associated with multidrug resistance.
• Findings suggest a link between p-glycoprotein expression, OLP severity, and malignant potential.