Study of the Expressions of Human β-defensin-2 in the Oral Epithelium of Patients with Oral Lichen Planus

Objective To investigate the expressions of human β-defensin-2(hBD-2)in oral epithelium in patients with oral lichen planus(OLP),and explain the pathomechanism of hBD-2 in OLP and inflammatory response of epithelium.Methods Oral mucous tissue samples from 25 OLP patients and 7 health controls were included in this study.Immunohistochemistry(IHC)and reverse transcription-polymerase(RT-PCR)were used to evaluate the expression of hBD-2 separately.Results Positive stains of hBD-2 were observed in all the samples by IHC method.The reaction intensity in OLP group was strong,while in health controls it showed weak signal,which showed statistical difference(P0.05).By RT-PCR,hBD-2 were expressed in cDNA electrophoresis strips both in health controls and patients.The expressions levels of hBD-2 mRNA in OLP patients were significantly higher than those of health controls(P0.05).Conclusion The small amount of expressions of hBD-2 on normal oral mucosa,which suggests that it play a role in maintaining the health of oral mucosa as a part of innate immunity.The up-regulating expression of hBD-2 under inflammation station in OLP may participate in the immunity course of OLP.