Conflict of Interest: None declared
Background: Oral lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory disease with a poorly understood etiology. The role of angiogenesis in the development of different chronic inflammatory diseases is of great concern. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)

is an important regulator of angiogenesis. We aimed to evaluate the serum level of VEGF in patients with oral lichen planus compared with normal individuals and consider its clinical significance. Methods: In this case-control study, 36 serum samples from patients diagnosed with oral lichen planus admitted to the Oral Medicine Department of the School of Dentistry at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical (14 men, 22 women, mean [±SD]

age: 38.8 [±6.07] Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical years) and 23 serum samples from healthy individuals (9 men, 14 women, mean [±SD] age: 38.7 [±4.9] years) were collected. VEGF concentration was measured using the ELISA method. The Mann-Whitney test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The serum VEGF level was significantly higher in patients with oral lichen planus compared with the healthy controls (112.97 [±63.2] vs. 66.21 [±56.2] ngr/ml, P<0.001). A similar difference was also observed between the two types of oral lichen planus, being more pronounced in the erosive form (P<0.001). Conclusion: Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Serum VEGF can be used as a useful and suitable marker to scrutinize the disease activity. Key Words: Oral lichen planus, Vascular endothelial growth factor, Serum Introduction Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting 1-2% of general adult population.1 Andreasen’s classical classification was modified by other authors who sub classified Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical OLP to reticular, atrophic, and erosive forms.2,3 In the erosive form the surface epithelium

desquamates and the areas of ulceration and erosion remain.2 The etiology of OLP is still not well understood. One theory is that in OLP, autocytotoxic CD8+ T-cells Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical initiate the programmed cell death of oral epithelial cells.4 Other etiologies include stress, several drugs, genetic background, infectious agents, certain dental materials, or an association with autoimmune disorders.5 The role of crotamiton angiogenesis in the development of chronic inflammatory diseases is of considerable concern. Angiogenesis is the development of new blood vessels from existing ones and is an imperious feature in the new tissue formation, and healing of the tissues. The adult vasculature is mostly quiescent, and angiogenesis does not happen under normal conditions. BAY 73-4506 price Therefore, this process has a role in physiological conditions such as embryonic development and wound healing, and in pathological conditions such as growth of cancer, and the development of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.