Role of Efferocytosis in Oral Lichen Planus

ABSTRACTBackgroundOral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic, immune mediated interface mucositis of oral mucosa. Though the apoptosis of keratinocytes is a feature of OLP, not much is known about the clearance of cell debris (efferocytosis) resulting from apoptosis. We postulate that there is a defective or delayed efferocytosis in OLP, which may have a role in modulating the immune response in OLP.MethodsPublished mRNA expression of tissue of 14 patients with OLP and 14 cases of normal tissues were subjected to differential analysis (DE) and a list of DE genes identified. From this list, the genes that involved in efferocytosis were collated, compared and their interactions are typed.ResultIn all, two studies fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. On combining the data, 1486 genes were significantly different between OLP and normal tissues. 28 of these 1486 genes are were associated with efferocytosis of which the suppression of LRP1, LDLR, ANAX2, C2, PBX1, PDCD4, S1PR5, CX3CL1, STAT6 and Wnt3A is indicative of defective or delayed efferocytosis in OLP. The role of pathways and associations were analyzed and is presented here.Discussion and ConclusionThe study revealed that certain key genes mRNAs that are associated with efferocytosis are altered in OLP. They could delay or lead to defective efferocytosis. Studying such genes in detail could provide deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and the discovery of therapeutic targets.