Investigation of the presence of Epstein-Barr virus in patients who had Oral Lichen Planus and Oral Lichenoid Contact Lesions with Real-time PCR method in serum, tissue, and saliva samples

OBJECTIVE: Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) is an immune system disease and its cause has not been fully determined yet. Oral Lichenoid Contact Lesions (OLCL) is an allergic condition known to develop because of dental materials. It is considered that some infectious agents (e.g., Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)) play roles in the etiology of OLP and OLCL. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the presence of EBV in different clinical samples of patients who had OLP and OLCL, to show its relationship with OLCL, and to determine its role in etiopathogenesis in these patients.
METHODS: Twenty (20) OLCL, twenty-three (23) OLP, and twenty (20) healthy volunteers who applied to Istanbul University Faculty of Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery were included in the study, regardless of gender. Biopsy samples were taken from patients who had a 5mm punch, including the mucosa containing the lesion along with saliva and blood samples, and all clinical samples were sent to the Department of Medical Microbiology Laboratory under appropriate storage conditions. After the isolation of the DNA from clinical samples, EBV DNA was analyzed on the Light Cycler 480 II device by using Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) tests. The evaluation of the statistical data of the results was made by using the SPSS program.
RESULTS: When the data were evaluated, EBV DNA positivity was detected in 13.04% of the patients who had OLP, 10% of the patients who had OLCL, and 5% of the individuals in the Control Group. In saliva samples, EBV DNA was found positive in 21.74% of individuals with OLP, 15% of individuals with OLCL, and 10% of individuals in the Control Group. In the biopsy samples, EBV DNA was detected positive in 21.74% of the OLP patients, 15% of the OLCL patients, and 10% of the Control Group individuals.
CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of the present study, no significant differences were observed in the presence of EBV DNA or the quantitative viral load between patients with OLP, OLCL, and the Control Group. However, the quantitative EBV DNA results varied depending on the type of clinical sample selected. We believe that comprehensive studies that will include a larger number of samples must be conducted to determine the role of EBV in OLP and OLCL.

Oral Liken Planus ve Oral Likenoid Kontakt Lezyonu bulunan hastalarda Epstein-Barr virüsünün varliðinin serum, doku ve tükürük örneklerinde Real-time PCR yöntemi ile araþtýrýlmasý

Amaç: Oral Liken Planus (OLP), henüz nedeni tam olarak belirlenememiþ bir immün sistem hastalýðýdýr. Oral Likenoid Kontakt Lezyonlar (OLKL) ise dental materyaller nedeniyle geliþtiði bilinen alerjik bir tablodur. OLP ve OLKL etyolojisinde Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) gibi bazý enfeksiyöz ajanlarýn rol oynadýðý düþünülmektedir. Çalýþmamýzda, OLP ve OLKL’li hastalara ait farklý klinik örneklerdeki EBV varlýðýnýn araþtýrýlmasý, özellikle OLKL ile iliþkisinin gösterilmesi ve bu hastalarda etiyopatogenezdeki rolünün belirlenmesi amaçlanmýþtýr.
Gereç ve Yöntem: Ýstanbul Üniversitesi Diþ Hekimliði Fakültesi, Aðýz Diþ Çene Cerrahisine baþvuran, yirmi (20) OLKL, yirmi üç (23) OLP ve yirmi (20) saðlýklý gönüllü birey cinsiyet ayrýmý gözetmeksizin çalýþma kapsamýna alýnmýþtýr. Hasta bireylerden lezyonu içeren mukozayý da içerecek þekilde 5mm’lik punch ile biyopsi örnekleri alýnmýþtýr. Ayný bireylerden ayrýca tükürük ve kan örnekleri alýnmýþ, tüm klinik örnekler Týbbi Mikrobiyoloji Anabilim Dalý laboratuvarýna uygun saklama koþullarýnda gönderilmiþtir. Klinik örneklerden yapýlan DNA izolasyonu sonrasý EBV DNA, Real-Time PCR (RT-PCR) testleri kullanýlarak LightCycler 480 II cihazýnda analiz edilmiþtir. Sonuçlara ait istatistiksel verilerin deðerlendirmesi SPSS programý kullanýlarak yapýlmýþtýr.
Bulgular: Elde edilen veriler deðerlendirildiðinde; hastalara ait kan örneklerinde OLP’lilerin %13.04’ünde, OLKL’lilerin %10‘unda, kontrol grubunda yer alan bireylerin %5’inde EBV DNA pozitifliði saptanmýþtýr. Tükürük örneklerinde ise OLP’lilerin %21,74’ünde, OLKL’lilerin %15’inde, kontrol grubundaki bireylerin %10’unda EBV DNA pozitif olarak bulunmuþtur. Biyopsi örneklerinde ise OLP’lilerin %21,74’ünde, OLKL’lilerin %15’inde, kontrol grubunda yer alan bireylerin ise %10’unda EBV DNA pozitif olarak saptanmýþtýr.
Sonuç: Çalýþmamýzýn sonucunda, OLP ve OLKL’li hastalarda EBV DNA’nýn varlýðý ve kantitatif yükü açýsýndan kontrol grubuna göre anlamlý bir fark saptanmazken, kantitatif EBV DNA sonucunun seçilen klinik örneðe göre deðiþkenlik gösterdiði tespit edilmiþtir. EBV’nin, OLP ve OLKL hastalýklarýndaki rolünün belirlenebilmesi için daha fazla örnek sayýsý içeren kapsamlý çalýþmalarýn yapýlmasý gerektiði düþüncesindeyiz. (NCI-2024-10-4)