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The Assessment of Angiogenesis by Microvessel Density in Patients With Atrophic/Erosive or Reticular Oral Lichen Planus

The role of angiogenesis in the development of chronic inflammatory diseases, including oral lichen planus (OLP), is of great concern. The most representative method for the assessment of angiogenesis is the semi-quantification of microvessel density (MVD) using specific markers such as CD105. We aimed to assess the MVD in patients with OLP and find its clinical significance to differentiate the atrophic/erosive forms from reticular ones. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 82 patients with clinically and histopathologically proven cases of OLP, including reticular (n=52) or atrophic/erosive (n=30) lesions. The control group comprised 82 age- and sex-matched subjects without any oral disease. To assess the MVD using CD105, tissue blocks were sliced, and the immunoexpression of CD105 was measured by the standard immunohistochemical staining procedure. The mean value of MVD in OLP patients was significantly higher than that in the controls (14.61±12.48 vs. 8.67±1.76, P<0.0001). Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the mean MVD value between reticular and atrophic/erosive lesions (8.19±7.13 vs. 25.73±12.06, P=0.001). However, no significant difference was observed between the reticular lesions and normal tissues (P=0.58). An increased level of CD105 in OLP patients can improve our knowledge about the causes and mechanisms of the disease. The CD105-MVD assessment might be a useful method for semiquantitative measurement of angiogenesis in OLP patients as well as differentiating its clinical forms; therefore, it can open new vistas for formulating strategies based on antiangiogenic treatments for the management of OLP and other precancerous lesions.