Expression of T-bet and GATA-3 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with oral lichen planus.

OBJECTIVE

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a T-cell-mediated chronic inflammatory oral disease of unknown aetiology. Imbalanced cytokine production by Th1 and Th2 probably contributes to the pathogenesis of OLP. Growing evidence has suggested that two Th1/Th2-specific transcription factors, T-bet and GATA-3, may play a critical role in the development of Th1 and Th2 immunity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mRNA expressions of T-bet and GATA-3 in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of OLP subjects, and their expression patterns in relation to several clinical features.

DESIGN

Expressions of T-bet and GATA-3 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from twenty-eight OLP subjects and sixteen controls were detected by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS

When OLP subjects were regarded as a whole group, T-bet mRNA level and the ratio of T-bet/GATA-3 mRNA in OLP subjects were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those in controls. When the OLP subjects were divided according to different clinical forms, genders or age groups, T-bet, but not GATA-3, mRNA levels in reticular (P<0.01), female (P<0.05) and elder (age>55, P<0.05) OLP patients were significantly higher than those in control subjects. T-bet/GATA-3 mRNA ratio only in reticular (P<0.05) OLP subjects was significantly higher than that in control subjects.

CONCLUSIONS

The results implicate a predominant role of Th1-type immune response in pathogenesis of OLP. Different gene expressions of T-bet in different clinical features may indicate different immunoregulatory mechanisms of OLP.