A pilot study: a possible implication of Candida as an etiologically endogenous pathogen for oral lichen planus

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and genotypic profiles of Candida albicans in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP). Materials and methods: Positive rates and genotypic profiles of Candida albicans strains from OLP patients and healthy controls were analyzed. Random amplified polymorphic DNA and internal transcribed spacer of ribosome DNA polymerase chain reactions were used to sequence the DNA of these strains, and then their genetic similarity was measured using BLAST, UIV Band, and Vector NTI Suite Sequence Analyses Software. Results: The prevalence of C. albicans strains detected from erosive-OLP, non-erosive OLP, and normal individuals was 18.87, 18.75, and 7.92%, respectively. Four different genotypes were revealed by the two methods. To be specific, type I was found only in the healthy subjects; type II a and II b were found in non-erosive OLP, and type III was identified in erosive OLP. Intragroup similarity coefficients, i.e. S AB were 100%, and inter-groups similarity coefficients, i.e. S AB were less than 30%. Conclusions: The genotypic results of C. albicans in OLP revealed an endogenous rather than exogenous infection of C. albicans. In addition, a possible pathogenic role of C. albicans in OLP, with the etiologic sense contributing to a more proper recognition on the pathogenesis, development, and progression of OLP, as well as some strategies for its diagnosis and treatment were identified.

Hypha essential genes in Candida albicans pathogenesis of oral lichen planus: an in-vitro study

“…Probable genotypic mutations of C. albicans in the occurrence and development of OLP (Fig. 1 ) were illustrated in previous researches [ 5 , 6 ]. Further studies about phase transformation of C. albicans in OLP progression have been conducted.…”

Oral lichen planus: a microbiologist point of view

“…In contrast, Odds et al described in 1989 that the yeast C. albicans is unequivocally associated with OLP in 37% of the patients; the authors also reported that, apart from C. albicans (Jacobsen et al 2008 ), there were additional yeast species occasionally present in the lesions, including C. tropicalis , C. pintolopesii , Torulopsis glabrata , and Saccharomyces cerevisiae . However, a more recent study (Hong et al 2020 ) indicated that the presence of C. albicans in OLP lesions is not as common as previously believed, reporting a prevalence of only 18.87 and 18.75% in non-erosive and erosive varieties of the disease, respectively, while the prevalence of the yeast is 7.92% in healthy people. The conclusions from the latter report indicate that although the disease appears to involve only a minor dysbiosis, at least concerning C. albicans , the yeast only appears in a small percentage of people suffering from OLP; this suggests a role for the pathogenic yeast as a secondary colonizer, as it does not fulfill the conditions reflected in Koch’s postulates to be considered as the origin of the disease.…”

Evaluation of the Distribution of Candida Species in Patients with Dysplastic and Nondysplastic Oral Lichen Planus Lesions

“…However, these two researchers examined the samples in two ways. In one case, they examined the presence of hypha by potash staining, and in the second case, they examined the invasion of Candida in the biopsy samples of patients [ 15 , 16 ]. He et al in 1 of 43 biopsies and Krogh in none of the 19 samples showed Candida invasion.…”

“…He et al in 1 of 43 biopsies and Krogh in none of the 19 samples showed Candida invasion. He et al reported 10 positive samples with potash staining and Krogh 37% of the samples positive [ 16 ].…”