• M Koray, B Atalay, S Akgul, F S Oguz, G Mumcu, and A Saruhanoglu.
• Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Istanbul University, Capa, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Niger J Clin Pract. 2018 Mar 1; 21 (3): 271-275.

AimRecurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is an inflammatory condition of the oral mucosa. The etiology of RAS remains unclear. Calprotectin is a major cytoplasmic protein contained in granulocytes, monocytes/macrophages and epithelial cells, and its level is increased body fluids in some inflammatory diseases. The aim is to determine the relationship between salivary calprotectin and RAS.Material And MethodsIn the cross-sectional study, 67 patients with active lesions of RAS (F/M: 43/24, mean age: 30.27 ± 9.14 years) and 42 healthy controls (HC, F/M: 30/12, 30.54 ± 9.49 years) were included. Calprotectin levels were evaluated in unstimulated whole saliva samples by using the ELISA method in both groups.ResultsSalivary calprotectin levels were significantly higher in RAS group (23.72 ± 4.28 mg/L) compared to the HC group (21.59 ± 4.27 mg/L) (P = 0.013). No significant relationship was found between calprotectin levels and age or gender in both groups (P >0.05).ConclusionRAS is a very common inflammatory ulcerative condition of the oral cavity and its etiology is uncertain. Regarded as an inflammatory mechanism, releasing a high level of calprotectin in saliva has been suggested that it may play a role in pathogenesis of RAS.

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