title: Identification of AgNORs and cytopathological changes in oral lichen planus lesions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate cytopathological changes in epithelial cells of the oral mucosa of patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) compared with patients without OLP.
  
  
  METHODS
  Swabs were collected from the oral mucosa of 20 patients with OLP (case group) and 20 patients without OLP (control group) using liquid-based cytology. After Papanicolaou staining, the smears were characterized based on Papanicolaou classification and degree of maturation. Nuclear area (NA) measurements, cytoplasmic area (CA) measurements, and the NA/CA ratio were determined from 50 epithelial cells per slide. For quantification of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs), the smears were stained with silver nitrate, and the number of AgNORs was counted in 100 cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In both groups, there was a predominance of Papanicolaou Class I nucleated cells in the superficial layer. The average values of NA (p>0.05) and CA (p=0.000) were greater in the case group (NA=521.6, CA=22,750.3) compared with the control group (NA=518.9, CA=18,348.0). The NA/CA ratio was 0.025 for the case group and 0.031 for the control group (p=0.004). There was no significant difference between the mean AgNORs values of both groups (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The oral mucosa of patients with OLP exhibited significant cytomorphometric changes. However, there was no evidence of malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Health and Biosciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155, Curitiba, Pr 80215-901, Brazil. Electronic address: s.j.f_1985@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Stefânia Jeronimo
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Pr, Brazil. Electronic address: man.machado@ufpr.br.
authors.forename: Maria Ângela Naval
authors.initials: MÂ
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Pr, Brazil. Electronic address: antollima@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Antônio Adilson Soares
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Lima
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Health and Biosciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155, Curitiba, Pr 80215-901, Brazil. Electronic address: aline.johann@pucpr.br.
authors.forename: Aline Cristina Batista Rodrigues
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Johann
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Health and Biosciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155, Curitiba, Pr 80215-901, Brazil. Electronic address: ana.gregio@pucpr.br.
authors.forename: Ana Maria Trindade
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Grégio
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Health and Biosciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155, Curitiba, Pr 80215-901, Brazil. Electronic address: l.azevedo@pucpr.br.
authors.forename: Luciana Reis
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Azevedo-Alanis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D034961:Antigens, Nuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018450:Disease Progression; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012835:Silver Nitrate / Q000737:chemistry; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D034961:Antigens, Nuclear; C051963:nucleolar organizer region associated proteins; D012835:Silver Nitrate
keywords: Cytology; Oral lichen planus; Oral mucosa; Precancerous lesions