Overexpression and Selectively Regulatory Roles of IL-23/IL-17 Axis in the Lesions of Oral Lichen Planus

Figure 1

Immunohistochemical stainings for IL-23p19 (a–f) and IL-17 (g–l) in erosive (a, b, g, and h) and reticular (c, d, i, and j) OLP lesions and normal oral mucosa tissues (e, f, k, and l). Immunohistochemical staining for IL-23p19 showed diffuse and strong patterns in epithelium and the extracellular matrix of the lamina propria of both erosive ((a) ×100; (b) ×400) and reticular ((c) ×100; (d) ×400) OLP lesions, but weak or absent pattern in normal oral mucosa tissues ((e) ×100; (f) ×400). Abundant IL-17 positive staining was observed on the cytoplasm of the infiltrated lymphocytes in the lesions of both erosive ((g) ×100; (h) ×400) and reticular ((i) ×100; (j) ×400) OLP, but only a few sporadic IL-17+ cells were seen in normal oral mucosa ((k) ×100; (l) ×400).