Salivary Osteopontin was associated with lesion size in patients with oral lichen planus

Introduction: Osteopontin (OPN) is recognized as a potent biomarker of Oral lichen planus (OLP) because of vital role in inflammation and repair process. The aim of present study is assessment of OPN in OLP in comparison with healthy controls (HC). Material and Methods: To explore salivary levels of OPN, a group of 20 subjects with OLP were compared with 20 HC. Salivary OPN levels was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay. Results: Results indicated elevated OPN levels in lesion size < 1 cm compared with 1 - 3 cm lesion size of OLP (p= 0.02). In contrast, we did not find a significant difference in OPN expression level in saliva from OLP patients and healthy controls (P = 0.96). Discussion: The above results suggest that maybe OPN may serve as a potential biomarker for the monitoring of repair process in OLP.