Investigation of Interleukin 37 gene variant (rs4241122) in patients with oral lichen planus

Oral lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can develop into a malignancy. This study aimed to compare the IL-37 gene variant (rs4241122) in oral lichen planus patients and the healthy controls.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in the School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Shiraz, Iran). 70 serum samples from patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) and 100 serum samples from healthy volunteers were collected from 2018 to 2019. The IL-37 polymorphism (rs4241122) in OLP patients and healthy controls was assessed using a PCR test, and its relationship with the location and type of OLP lesions, sex, and age was investigated. A Chi-square test was used to determine the relationship between OLP and genotype, genotype and location, and the lesion type. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The OLP group included 46 women (66 %) and 24 men (34%) with a mean age of 45.71 ± 13.2 years old. The healthy control group consisted of 61 women (61%) and 39 men (39%), with a mean age of 43.9 ± 10.39 years. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of genotype and polymorphism of IL-37 rs4241122.

In this study, there was no difference between polymorphism of IL-37 (rs4241122) and OLP lesions. However, allele A was more prevalent in healthy controls than in OLP patients.