Background: Bibliometric analysis highlights the key topics and research trends which have shaped the understanding and management of a concerned disease. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize the most-cited articles on oral lichen planus (OLP), and highlight the analysis of key topics and research trends. Methods: A comprehensive search was performed and identified in the Scopus database from 1907 to 5 March 2019 for the top-100 most-cited articles on OLP. Results: The number of citations of the 100 selected articles varied from 101 to 570, with a mean of 178.7 citations per article. Malignant potential, immunopathogenesis, and topical drug therapy were the top-3 study topics, and the majority of high-quality articles were the research of the 3 topics. Journal of Oral Pathology and Medicine (n = 19) and Oral Surgery Oral Medicine Oral Pathology Oral Radiology (n = 14) were 2 journals with the most articles published. Both van der Waal I. and Scully C. were the most frequently contributing authors (n = 9). United States (n = 27) and Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (n = 7) was the most contributing country and institution, respectively. Systematic reviews (n = 2), randomized controlled trial (n = 1), cohort studies (n = 17) were study designs with higher evidence level, but the large majority (n = 80) were considered lower level. Conclusions: The results of this first citation analysis of the 100 most cited articles on OLP provide a historical perspective on scientific evolution, and suggest further research trends and clinical practice in the field of OLP.

Objectives: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease recognized as an oral potential malignant disorder (OPMD) with the precise mechanism unknown. This study focused on the transcriptional profiles of OLP to elucidate its potential pathogenesis. Methods: We conducted RNA sequencing on matched 6 OLP tissues and 6 normal oral mucosal tissues. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were performed on differentially expressed genes (DEGs). We utilized qRT-PCR to validated the top dysregulated genes and hub genes in another 10 pairs of specimens. Results: A total of 153 DEGs (p-values< 0.05) were detected from RNA-Seq. According to GO and KEGG analysis, the dysregulated genes were mainly related to T cell related pathway and Wnt signaling. Based on the WGCNA analysis, 5 modules with high intramodular connectivity and hub genes in each module were gained. Conclusions: RNA-Seq and bioinformatic methods offered a valuable understanding of the biological pathways and key genes in the regulation of OLP. The identified DEGs and hub genes categorized into 2 groups including T cell regulation and inflammation and Wnt signaling pathway may serve as potential novel molecular targets for therapy.

Lichen planus (LP) is a representative mucocutaneous disease involving oral mucosa and skin. The aim of this study was to compare the scientometric characteristics of LP publications in stomatology and dermatology journals. All the papers on LP were comprehensively searched and then ones published in stomatology and dermatology journals were retrieved. Among all the 5633 papers on LP, 1344 (23.9%) and 2528 (44.9%) were published in stomatology and dermatology journals, respectively. Among the most-cited top-100 papers, 58 and 30 were published in stomatology and dermatology journals, respectively. Moreover, citation count (11,908) and citation density (640.2) of the 58 stomatology publications were obviously higher than the 2 numbers (5096, 260.3) of the 30 dermatology publications. Based on the frequency of research keywords, the distinctive keywords such as malignant transformation, precancerous, genetics, genotype, gene expression, saliva, blood, cytokines, smoking, anxiety, and depression were identified in stomatology publications. On the other side, hyperkeratosis, hyperpigmentation, erythema, epiluminescence microscopy, and dermoscopy were identified in dermatology publications. Furthermore, drug research including drug withdrawal, drug safety, and drug dose reduction with a dozen of drugs are frequent keywords in dermatology but not in stomatology publications. The distinctive keywords of LP publications in stomatology and dermatology journals correspond to the research priority in stomatology and dermatology. We hope that the observations of this analysis will aid clinicians and investigators in promoting mutual understanding and more reciprocal cooperation regarding LP in stomatology and dermatology.

The scarcity of ideal biocompatible scaffolds makes the regeneration of cartilage in the subcutaneous environment of large animals difficult. We have previously reported the successful regeneration of good-quality cartilage in a nude mouse model using the electrospun gelatin/polycaprolactone (GT/PCL) nanofiber membranes. The GT/PCL ratios were varied to generate different sets of membranes to conduct the experiments. However, it is unknown whether these GT/PCL membranes can support the process of cartilage regeneration in an immunocompetent large animal model. We seeded swine auricular chondrocytes onto different GT/PCL nanofiber membranes (GT:PCL = 30:70, 50:50, and 70:30) under the sandwich cell-seeding mode. Prior to subcutaneously implanting the samples into an autologous host, they were cultured in vitro over a period of 2 weeks. The results revealed that the nanofiber membranes with different GT/PCL ratios could support the process of subcutaneous cartilage regeneration in an autologous swine model. The maximum extent of homogeneity in the cartilage tissues was achieved when the G5P5 (GT: PC = 50: 50) group was used for the regeneration of cartilage. The formed homogeneous cartilage tissues were characterized by the maximum cartilage formation ratio. The extents of the ingrowth of the fibrous tissues realized and the extents of infiltration of inflammatory cells achieved were found to be the minimum in this case. Quantitative analyses were conducted to determine the wet weight, cartilage-specific extracellular matrix content, and Young’s modulus. The results indicated that the optimal extent of cartilage formation was observed in the G5P5 group. These results indicated that the GT/PCL nanofiber membranes could serve as a potential scaffold for supporting subcutaneous cartilage regeneration under clinical settings. An optimum GT/PCL ratio can promote cartilage formation.