HLA-C/KIR GENOTYPES IN ORAL LICHEN PLANUS PATIENTS INFECTED OR NON INFECTED WITH HEPATITIS C VIRUS

Marco Carrozzo (1) , Alessandra Elia (2) , Valentina Mereu (3) , Ennia Dametto (4) , Maria Edvige Fasano (4) , Roberto Broccoletti (2) , Sabina Rendine (3) , Antonio Amoroso (3)

1 Oral Medicine
2 Division of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, Oral Medicine Section
3 Departments of Genetics, Biology and Biochemistry,
4 , Transplantation Immunology Service

OBJECTIVES: Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) is associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and resembles graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) both clinically and histologically. The Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor (KIR) genes encode a family of receptors expressed on NK and T cells and are supposed to play a significant role in GVHD and HCV infection. The aim of the present study was to analyze the association between OLP, HCV infection and variants in KIR gene expression. METHODS: 81 patients with OLP (36 HCV+ve and 45 HCV-ve) and 217 healthy controls (HCV-ve) were typed for the presence of eight KIR genes and of HLA-Cw* alleles by polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the frequency of the KIR genes and HLA-C1/C2 group alleles between cases and controls. We only found a significant difference in the frequency of the gene KIR2DL2 between HCV +ve and HCV-ve OLP patients. CONCLUSIONS: The present data suggest that OLP is not associated with particular KIR genes or with HLA-Cw* alleles in patients without HCV infection. Contrarily, the role of those genes in OLP-HCV+ve patients is unclear and might warrant further researches.

Mots clés: Medicine

Marco Carrozzo, Alessandra Elia, Valentina Mereu, Ennia Dametto, Maria Edvige Fasano, et al.. HLA-C/KIR GENOTYPES IN ORAL LICHEN PLANUS PATIENTS INFECTED OR NON INFECTED WITH HEPATITIS C VIRUS. Oral Diseases, 2010, 17 (3), pp.309. ⟨10.1111/j.1601-0825.2010.01742.x⟩. ⟨hal-00599892⟩