Background. Interleukin-17 is supposed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus (OLP). However, there is scarce data in the literature on its significance in the cutaneous variant of the disease. Objectives. To determine the serum level and tissue immunoexpression of IL-17 in cutaneous lichen planus (CLP). Methods. Fifty-two adult patients with CLP, without any significant autoimmune or inflammatory conditions, were included in the first part of the study. The control group consisted of 27 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Serum concentration of IL-17 was quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. In the second part of the study, the tissue expression of IL-17 was assessed in archival paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens from CLP () against normal control tissues () using immunohistochemical assays. The expression was evaluated using Zeiss Axio Imager A2 light microscope. Positively stained cells were counted in 10 fields of view for biopsy specimen at 200x magnification, and the mean value was calculated. Results. The serum level of IL-17 was significantly elevated in patients with CLP, compared with healthy volunteers ( versus , respectively; ). No correlation was found between the serum concentration of IL-17 and patient age, gender, disease duration, extent of skin involvement, the presence or intensity of pruritus, and coexistence of mucosal lesions. In tissue samples from CLP lesions, significantly higher numbers of cells expressing IL-17 were found when compared to a healthy skin (). Conclusion. Elevated serum concentration of IL-17 and high expression in a lesional skin support the hypothesis that IL-17 is implicated in the immunopathogenesis of CLP. These findings may constitute a premise for the future use of anti-IL-17 monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of severe and recalcitrant forms of CLP.

中文翻译：

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皮肤扁平苔藓中白细胞介素 17 的血清水平升高和组织免疫表达升高：顽固性病例的新治疗靶点？

背景。Interleukin-17 被认为在口腔扁平苔藓 (OLP) 的发病机制中起重要作用。然而，文献中关于其在该疾病的皮肤变异中的意义的数据很少。目标。测定皮肤扁平苔藓（CLP）中IL-17的血清水平和组织免疫表达。方法. 研究的第一部分包括 52 名 CLP 成年患者，没有任何明显的自身免疫或炎症状况。对照组由 27 名年龄和性别匹配的健康志愿者组成。使用酶联免疫吸附测定 (ELISA) 试剂盒量化 IL-17 的血清浓度。在研究的第二部分，在来自 CLP 的存档石蜡包埋活检标本中评估了 IL-17 的组织表达。)对正常对照组织 ()使用免疫组织化学分析。使用 Zeiss Axio Imager A2 光学显微镜评估表达。在 200x 放大倍率下对活检标本的 10 个视野中的阳性染色细胞进行计数，并计算平均值。结果。与健康志愿者相比，CLP 患者的血清 IL-17 水平显着升高。相对,分别;）。未发现血清IL-17浓度与患者年龄、性别、病程、皮肤受累程度、瘙痒的存在或强度以及是否存在黏膜病变有关。在来自 CLP 病变的组织样本中，与健康皮肤相比，发现表达 IL-17 的细胞数量显着增加。）。 结论。IL-17 的血清浓度升高和损伤皮肤中的高表达支持 IL-17 与 CLP 的免疫发病机制有关的假设。这些发现可能构成未来使用抗 IL-17 单克隆抗体治疗严重和顽固型 CLP 的前提。