Potential association between Fusobacterium nucleatum enrichment on oral mucosal surface and oral lichen planus

• Published in: Oral diseases Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 122 - 130
• Main Authors: Du, Guan‐huan, Wang, Yu‐feng, Chen, Jun‐jun, Deng, Yi‐wen, Han, Xiao‐zhe, Tang, Guo‐yao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Denmark Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2020
• Subjects: 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing; Adult; Aged; Bacteria; Buccal mucosa; Case-Control Studies; Community structure; Female; Fusobacterium; Fusobacterium nucleatum; Fusobacterium nucleatum - isolation & purification; Humans; Lichen planus; Lichen Planus, Oral - microbiology; Lipid metabolism; Male; Middle Aged; Mouth Mucosa - microbiology; oral dysbiosis; oral lichen planus; real‐time PCR; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; rRNA 16S; Sporulation; oral dysbiosis; real-time PCR; Fusobacterium nucleatum; 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing; oral lichen planus
• ISSN: 1354-523X; 1601-0825; 1601-0825
• DOI: 10.1111/odi.13232

Objective We determined the bacterial community structure of the buccal mucosa in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) and evaluated the potential association of Fusobacterium nucleatum with OLP. Subjects and Methods We collected buccal mucosal swab samples of patients with OLP (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 10) and performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing and real‐time PCR to determine potentially different bacteria. Damaged and adjacent non‐damaged mucosal swab samples of 25 OLP patients were used to detect the amount of F. nucleatum by real‐time PCR. Results Compared with healthy controls, enrichment of Fusobacterium and Granulicatella was more abundant in patients with OLP (p = .0146 and 0.0034). The abundance of Fusobacterium and F. nucleatum was significantly enriched on buccal mucosa of patients with OLP compared with healthy controls (p = .0043 and 0.0235). Compared with adjacent non‐damaged buccal mucosa of OLP patients, the amount of F. nucleatum in the damaged mucosa was significantly increased (p = .001). We examined third‐level KEGG pathways for bacteria on mucosal surface and found that genes controlling sporulation and ether lipid metabolism were enriched in patients with OLP. Conclusions A high amount of F. nucleatum may be associated with OLP. Further studies are required to investigate the precise association of F. nucleatum with OLP.