Human gingival mast cells

The literature concerning changes in mast cell populations in human gingiva associated with inflammation is contradictory. No reports of the effects of therapy on these populations have been published.This study was designed to determine whether gingival mast cell populations are altered by inflammation and whether these populations change following routine therapy. Twenty systemically healthy patients, age 20 to 40, ten with normal gingiva and ten with periodontitis of similar severity bilaterally, were selected for study. Biopsies of interdental papillae from premolar regions were utilized. In the periodontitis group, one papilla was obtained prior to therapy, the second from the ipsilateral quadrant two weeks after root planing and curettage. Mast cell populations were determined from frozen sections stained with EACNAS‐GBC Hematoxylin (Hall, 1966). Granule estimates were obtained from photographic negatives of frozen sections stained with EACNAS‐GBC alone, using a photoelectric assaying device. Mast cell counts and granule estimates were made separately for beneath col and beneath keratinized tissue. Results show a larger mast cell population and a greater granule estimate under keratinized tissue than beneath the col. Mast cell counts and granule estimates show a decrease during periodontitis and a return to “normal” limits following routine therapy. These results support the concept that mast cell numbers are decreased in the presence of chronic inflammation but return to “normal” levels following resolution of the inflammatory process.