The role of specific cow's milk proteins in the etiology of recurrent aphthous ulcers.

Background: Recurrent aphthous ulcerations (RAU), or recurrent aphthous stomatitis, is recognized as one of the most common oral mucosal diseases worldwide. It was noted some connection between immunity to cow's milk proteins (CMP) and oral diseases. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of the increased levels of serum antibodies to specific cow's milk proteins (SCMP), constituents of cheese or of whey, by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test, in subjects who have RAU.

Methods: Fifty subjects with RAU and 50 healthy people, as controls (C), were included in this research. Levels of serum IgA, IgG, and IgE antibodies to SCMP were determined by ELISA. The statistical analysis of data was performed by Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction.

Results: The levels of serum anti-SCMP IgA, IgG, and IgE antibodies were significantly higher in subjects with RAU in comparison with controls (P < 0.005).

Conclusions: These results indicate the strong association between high levels of serum anti-SCMP IgA, IgG, and IgE antibodies, especially to caseins: α-, β-, and κ-casein from cow's milk and clinical manifestations of RAU. Serum immunity to the whey proteins in subjects with RAU was not in so high percentage expressed.