Evaluation of the Presencs of HHV7 DNA in Oral Lichenplanus Lesions by Polymerase Chain Reaction Method

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a common inflammatory disease with an unknown etiology; nevertheless, involvement of viral agents has been suggested in the literature. Human herpesvirus-7 (HHV-7) is a distinctive virus with a 90% global prevalence. It is a member of the Herpesviridae family and Betaherpesvirinae subfamily. Previous studies have confirmed the role of HHV-7 in cutaneous lichen planus lesions. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of HHV-7 DNA genome in OLP lesions, using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.
A total of 30 paraffin blocks from OLP lesions, as well as 30 samples from the normal mucosa, were collected from patients, referring to dental care clinics of Isfahan, Iran. The samples were evaluated for HHV-7 DNA genome, using the conventional PCR method. Data were analyzed via McNemar’s test, and the significance level was set at P=0.05.
A total of 10 out of 30 samples from OLP lesions showed positive HHV-7 DNA genome, while none of the control samples showed viral presence.
There was a significant relationship between HHV-7 infection and OLP occurrence (P=0.002).