Altered Expression of Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 in Oral Lichen Planus

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a T cell-mediated chronic inflammatory mucocutaneous disease affected by the interaction between keratinocytes and T cells. Recent evidence indicates that vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM1) plays a vital role in mediating immune and inflammatory responses. In this study, the expression of VCAM1 in OLP was detected by immunohistochemical staining and its correlations with clinical features were analyzed. The disease severity of OLP was assessed by the reticular, atrophic, and erosive scoring system. We found that VCAM1 was generally localized in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells, and in nucleus, cytoplasm, and extracellular matrix of subepithelial infiltrated cells in superficial layer of lamina propria. Moreover, VCAM1 levels in epithelium and lamina propria of OLP were significantly higher than that in controls, respectively. In addition, VCAM1 level in epithelium was increased compared with that of lamina propria. There were no significant differences for VCAM1 expression between nonerosive and erosive forms of OLP. The expression of VCAM1 in OLP was not associated with the severity of disease, gender, and age. Thus, we speculated that spatial expression differences of VCAM1 in local lesions of OLP may involve the pathogenesis of OLP.