RELATIONSHIP OF INFILTRATING INTRAEPITHELIAL T-LYMPHOCYTES IN DIAGNOSIS OF ORAL LICHEN PLANUS VS EPITHELIAL DYSPLASIA: A PILOT STUDY

Publication date: Available online 13 February 2019

Source: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology

Author(s): Andres Flores-Hidalgo, Valerie Murrah, Yuri Fedoriw, Ricardo J. Padilla

Abstract

Objective

Identify the type and distribution of CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes in oral mucosa specimens to potentially distinguish underlying alterations or patterns between oral epithelial dysplasia and oral lichen planus.

Methods

For this pilot study, 10 archived tissue samples received at UNC Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Laboratory, diagnosed as oral lichen planus and moderate to severe epithelial dysplasia, were selected. Dual staining with CD4 and CD8 antibodies was carried out on each case. Slides were scanned in the Aperio ScanScope FL (Leica Biosystems, Wetzlar, Germany) and archived. Histomorphometric analysis was performed to detect inflammatory cells expressing CD4 and CD8 biomarkers of in the epithelium and connective tissue regions.

Results

No differences were found in amount and ratio of CD4+/CD8+ lymphocytes between the three groups analyzed; however, the intraepithelial CD8+ lymphocyte distribution was strikingly different between lichen planus and moderate to severe epithelial dysplasia.

Conclusions

The localization of CD8+ cells potentially can be used as an adjunctive diagnostic procedure to distinguish oral epithelial dysplasia from other inflammatory entities such as lichen planus.

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