Salivary Epidermal Growth Factor Levels in Behçet’s Disease and Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis

Abstract

Background: Epidermal growth factor (EGF) in saliva is cytoprotective against injuries and contributes to the maintenance of the integrity of the gastrointestinal mucosa. Low salivary EGF levels have been observed in patients with various forms of oral mucosal disease. Objective: Our aim wasto determine whether salivary EGF is low in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) or those with Behçet’s disease (BD) when compared with healthy controls. Methods: The study population consisted of 33 BD and 16 RAS patients and 60 healthy controls. Measurement of EGF concentration in human saliva was performed with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using an antibody-coated solid phase. Results: The mean salivary EGF levels (±SD) of active (with oral ulceration) and inactive stages (absence of oral ulceration) of BD (1,939.7 ± 1,561.5 and 2,305.7 ± 1,481.6 pg/ml, respectively) and RAS patients (1,650.5 ± 704.7 and 1,069.9 ± 539.2 pg/ml, respectively) were both lower than those of the healthy controls (2,758.7 ± 1,657.9 pg/ml) (p < 0.05 for each). Conclusions: BD and RAS patients have reduced salivary EGF levels even in the absence of oral ulcerations. EGF could be involved in the pathogenesis of BD and RAS by disturbing the mucosal integrity that may result in a susceptibility to the development of oral ulcers in these diseases.

Rapid decrease in salivary epidermal growth factor levels in patients with Sjögren's syndrome: A 3-year follow-up study

“…In patients with radiation-induced oral mucositis, salivary EGF levels were significantly reduced and inversely correlated with the severity of the disease [14,15]. The authors of the above reports speculated that low salivary EGF levels reduce the capacity of the oral mucosa to heal and maintain its physiologic integrity, thereby increasing susceptibility to intraoral inflammatory lesions [4,[13][14][15]. In addition, the wound closure effect of EGF was shown in the previous study using oral epithelial cell lines [22].…”

“…Several previous reports suggested that EGF synthesized in the salivary glands and secreted into the saliva is involved in repair mechanisms that lead to wound healing and facilitate maintenance of the integrity of the oral cavity mucosa [10,11] and demonstrated the association between intraoral inflammatory diseases and changes in salivary EGF levels [4,[13][14][15]. Salivary EGF concentrations were found to be significantly lower in patients with stomatitis aphthosa [4,13] or peritonsillar abscess [4] and decreased further even after healing and in the absence of these lesions [4,13]. In patients with radiation-induced oral mucositis, salivary EGF levels were significantly reduced and inversely correlated with the severity of the disease [14,15].…”

“…Salivary EGF is considered an important cytoprotective factor against injuries, and it contributes to wound healing and maintenance of 4 mucosal integrity in the oral cavity [10,11] and gastrointestinal tract [12]. Several studies have found that salivary EGF levels are significantly decreased in patients with intraoral inflammatory lesions, such as stomatitis aphthosa [4,13] and peritonsillar abscess [4]. In addition, patients with oral mucositis induced by radiation therapy for head and neck carcinoma also were found to have markedly low salivary EGF levels [14,15].…”

Comparison of salivary epidermal growth factor in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis, smokers, and healthy individuals

“…Therefore, it is believed that the growth factors, which have a topical function, partly regulate the remission process. [1415]…”

“…Their results showed Behcet's disease and RAS reduced the salivary EGF level even in the absence of oral ulcer. [15]…”