Summary
The epithelial lining of normal human vestibular gingiva and the adjoining alveolar mucosa was subjected to a comparative stereological analysis. Five biopsies collected from 11 to 12 year-old males and females were selected from a total of 14 specimens and, under standardized conditions, processed for light- and electron microscopy. At two levels of magnification, electron micrographs were sampled from five strata in the oral-gingival, and from four strata in the alveolar-mucosal epithelium, mostly in regions of epithelial ridges. Standardized sterological point counting techniques were employed to analyze a total of 710 and 540 electron micrographs from the oralgingival and the alveolar-mucosal epithelium, respectively. The two epithelia, although of similar thickness, show different differentiation patterns. The oral-gingival epithelium consists of four cytologically different strata, the major differentiation step occurring between the lower and upper stratum spinosum of epithelial ridges. Standardized stereological point counting techniques were alveolar-mucosal epithelium, consisting of two cytologically different cell compartments, displays a broad, superficial zone of differentiated flat cells, with 60% of the cytoplasm filled with a dense network of cytoplasmic filaments. The major differentiation step occurs between basal and lower spinous layers. Differentiation phenomena in both epithelia are discussed and individual variations are interpreted in view of genetically determined factors.
Zusammenfassung
Das Epithel der normalen menschlichen vestibulären Gingiva und der benachbarten Alveolarschleimhaut wurde vergleichend stereologisch analysiert. Fünf Biopsien von 11–12 Jahre alten gesunden Knaben und Mädchen, die aus insgesamt 14 Biopsien ausgewählt worden waren, wurden standardisiert für licht- und elektronenmikroskopische Studien verarbeitet. Elektronenmikroskopische Aufnahmen wurden in zwei Vergrößerungsstufen aus fünf Schichten des oralen Gingivaepithels und aus vier Schichten des Alveolarschleimhautepithels, zumeist im Bereich epithelialer Leisten, gewonnen. Insgesamt wurden 710 Bilder aus dem oralen Gingivaepithel und 540 Bilder aus dem Alveolarschleimhautepithel mit Hilfe von standardisierten stereologischen Punktzählverfahren analysiert. Die untersuchten Epithelien sind etwa gleich dick, weisen aber sehr verschiedenartige Differenzierungsmuster auf. Das orale Gingivaepithel besteht aus vier zytologisch unterschiedlichen Schichten und bildet ein parakeratinisiertes, 0,1 mm dickes Stratum corneum, wobei der Hauptdifferenzierungsschritt zwischen dem unteren und dem oberen Stratum spinosum im Bereich der epithelialen Leisten erfolgt. Das Alveolarschleimhautepithel weist zwei zytologisch unterschiedliche Zellkompartimente auf und bildet eine breite oberflächliche Lage flacher und differenzierter Zellen, deren Zytoplasma zu 60% aus einem dichten Maschenwerk zytoplasmatischer Filamente besteht. Der Hauptdifferenzierungsschritt dieses Epithels liegt zwischen dem Stratum basale und dem unteren Stratum spinosum. Die verschiedenen Differenzierungsvorgänge werden diskutiert und individuelle Variationen, die in beiden Epithelien auftreten, im Hinblick auf genetische Faktoren erklärt.
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Schroeder, H.E., Amstad-Jossi, M. Epithelial differentiation at the mucogingival junction: A stereological comparison of the epithelia of the vestibular gingiva and alveolar mucosa. Cell Tissue Res. 202, 75–97 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00239222
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00239222