Abstract:

Objective To observe the changes of lymphocyte subsets of peripheral blood in 2 common oral mucosa diseases, recurrent aphthous ulcer (RAU) and oral lichen planus (OLP), and to investigate their immunological pathogenesis. Methods By flow cytometry, the lymphocyte subsets (total T cells, CD4⁺ T cells, CD8⁺T cells, CD4⁺/CD8, NK cells and B cells) in the peripheral blood of patients with RAU (105 cases), OLP (70 cases) and healthy controls (65 cases). The difference was analyzed comparatively between the groups. Results Compared with healthy controls, total T cells and CD8⁺T cells in RAU group increased (P<0.05, P<0.01), but CD4⁺T cells, CD4⁺/CD8⁺ and B cells decreased in RAU group (P<0.01, P<0.001, P<0.05). In addition, CD8⁺T cells in OLP group were lower than those in control group (P<0.05). The total T cells and CD8⁺T cells in RAU group were higher than those in OLP group (P<0.01, P<0.001), while CD4⁺T cells, CD4⁺/CD8⁺ and NK cells in RAU group were significantly lower (P<0.01, P<0.001, P<0.05). Conclusions Owing to the imbalanced lymphocyte subset percentages, the cellular immune function of patients with RAU or OLP is often found to be abnormal, but their immune states are not completely same. So, the application of selective immunologic intervention may be the promising therapeutic measure to those oral mucosa diseases.

Key words: Lymphocyte subset, Peripheral blood, Oral mucosa disease, Recurrent aphthous ulcer, Oral lichen planus