Evaluation of the serum levels of galectin‐3 in patients with oral lichen planus disease

Abstract

Objectives Galectin‐3, a member of beta‐galactoside‐binding proteins, can be found in cytoplasm and nucleus as well as extracellularly in various tissues and involved in many physiological and pathological processes. We aimed to measure the serum levels of galectin‐3 in oral lichen planus (OLP) disease and compare the result with that observed in healthy ones. Materials and Methods In this cross‐sectional study, the serum levels of galectin‐3 were measured in 56 healthy individuals and 53 pathologically proven OLP patients including those with atrophic/erosive (33 cases) or reticular (20 cases) lesions, using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Compared with healthy individuals (1.1 ± 0.4 ng/ml), galectin‐3 serum levels in patients with OLP (3.1 ± 1.1 ng/ml) were significantly elevated (p < 0.0001). Serum galectin‐3 levels were elevated significantly in patients with atrophic/erosive lesions compared to those of reticular (3.9 ± 2.1 ng/ml vs. 1.9 ± 1.4 ng/ml, p = 0.001), but it has not associated with age and gender. Conclusions The elevation of galectin‐3 in OLP is a future tool to increase the knowledge about the possible etiology of the disease and may be helpful to differentiate atrophic/erosive lesions from reticular ones. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluated the serum galectin‐3 levels in OLP.

A critical influence of HIF-1 on MMP-9 and Galectin-3 in oral lichen planus

“…Our study found a significant immune expression of Gal-3 in A-ELP compared to the gingival overgrowth. This is consistent with the findings of Ghapanchi et al [ 27 ], who discovered substantial variations in serum Gal-3 (a member of the galectin family) levels between patients and healthy controls and proved Gal-3’s diagnostic capability for OLP. Also, erosive/atrophic forms had a higher Gal-3 concentration than reticular forms.…”

“…Moreover, in accordance with our results, elevated expression of Gal-3 was demonstrated in different types of oral lesions. In patients with salivary gland tumors, high serum level of Gal-3 was detected, and could moreover differentiate patients from the healthy individuals [ 27 ].…”