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Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic disease, with a central role to cell-mediated autoimmunity. Osteopontin promotes migration and recruitment of immune cells, CD44 is its receptor, and Survivin seems to be important in skin/mucosa homeostasis. The aim of this study was to investigate their expression in biopsy specimens of patients with different OLP clinical types and healthy controls. Biopsy specimens from 30 patients with OLP (15 atrophic and 15 hyperplastic) and 15 healthy controls were subjected to immune-histochemical analysis, to detect the expression of osteopontin, CD44, and Survivin in oral epithelia. The distributions of positively stained cells were evaluated with a quantitative method, while the inflammation degree was evaluated with a semi-quantitative one. Expression of osteopontin and CD44 was higher in OLP than controls, while Survivin expression was lower in OLP patients. There was a greater reduction of Survivin expression in atrophic OLP than hyperplastic OLP. A correlation between osteopontin expression and a high degree of inflammation was found. Furthermore, Survivin expression was higher in cases with low intensity of inflammation. Osteopontin, CD44, and Survivin seem to be involved in OLP pathogenesis, and further investigations are needed for clarifying their role in this oral disease.

The aim of the present study is to compare the histological aspects of bone formation in atrophic posterior mandibles augmented by autologous bone block from chin area with corticocancellous bone block allograft used as inlays with the sandwich technique.Materials and Methods. Sixteen patients with bilateral partial edentulism in the posterior mandible were selected. The residual bone height, preliminarily measured by computed tomography scans, ranged between 5 and 7 mm from the inferior alveolar nerve. All patients required regeneration procedure with autologous bone block from chin area (control group) versus bone block allograft Puros (Zimmer Dental, 1900 Aston Avenue, Carlsbad, CA, USA) (test group). Histological and histomorphometric samples were collected at the time of implant positioning in order to analyze the percentage of newly formed bone, the residual graft material, and marrow spaces/soft tissue.Results. No statistically significant differences between the two groups were found regarding the percentage of newly formed bone. The percentage of residual grafted material was significantly higher in the test group, whilst the percentage of marrow spaces was higher in control group.Conclusions. In conclusion, both procedures supported good results, although the use of bone blocks allograft was less invasive and preferable than harvesting bone from the mental symphysis.