title: Evaluation of Secretory State in Patients with Oral Lichen Planus: A Case-Control Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Non-secretor individuals lack ABO blood group antigens in their secretions like saliva; these carbohydrate structures play an important role in protection of the oral cavity from exogenous pathogens; therefore these individuals are more susceptible to mucous membrane damages. The aim was to assess the secretory state of patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) in comparison with healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty patients and 100 age-gender matched control subjects were recruited to the study. Patients were visited in the outpatient clinic of dermatology at Shohada-e-Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences from 2012 - 2014. Two-milliliter (mL) blood was collected from each subject to detect Lewis phenotypes. According to Lewis phenotype of each subject, secretory state was determined except in subjects with Le (a-b-) phenotype, in whom saliva was collected to determine the secretor status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Non-secretor status in patients with OLP was more frequent compared with healthy controls (37 out of 50 patients (74%) vs. 24 out of 100 healthy controls (24%), (P < 0.001)). There was no association between secretory state, and type of OLP and disease duration (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study supported the possible role of cell surface histo-blood group antigens in protection of mucosal surface from exogenous pathogens. Therefore, it appears that non-secretor individuals are more prone to oral lichen planus.
authors.affiliation: Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shahidi-Dadras
authors.affiliation: Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Atefe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Golfeshan
authors.affiliation: Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. fabdollahimajd@yahoo.com, fabdollahimajd@sbmu.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Fahimeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abdollahimajd
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007983:Lewis Blood Group Antigens / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007983:Lewis Blood Group Antigens