Association between TNFα-308 G/A and IFN-γ+874A/T Polymorphisms with Oral Lichen Planus

Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic disease that presents with inflammation and has a global prevalence of 0.1-4%. Lesions of the disease occur in the oral mucosa, gums, and rarely in the palate. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between this disease and TNFα-308G/A and IFN-γ+874A/T polymorphisms. Methods: In this case-control study, oral mucosal samples were collected from 50 healthy subjects, and 50 OLP patients presented to the Kerman Faculty of Dentistry were enrolled using a simple sampling method. Subsequently, we used the amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR) technique followed by sequencing to determine the presence of TNFα-308G/A and IFN-γ+874A/T polymorphisms in cases and controls. Results: Compared to the control group, the prevalence of A and GA alleles of the TNF gene was higher than the prevalence of G and GG alleles in OLP patients, while the AA genotype of the gene was not found in OLP patients. Regarding IFN gene polymorphism, the relationship between the T allele and the risk of disease was discovered, but it was not statistically significant (P value: 0.068). Conclusion: Although there is a strong relation between the A allele of TNF-α (-308G/A) polymorphism and the risk of OLP, this association between IFN-γ+874A/T genotype and the disease was not strong enough to predict the possibility of developing OLP.