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Ultrastructural and Histochemical Features of the Ground Substance in Cyclosporin A‐Induced Gingival Overgrowth
Author(s) -
Mariani Giustiniano,
Calastrini Carla,
Carinci Francesco,
Bergamini Luca,
Calastrini Fiorella,
Stabellini Giordano
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of periodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.036
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1943-3670
pISSN - 0022-3492
DOI - 10.1902/jop.1996.67.1.21
Subject(s) - ultrastructure , ground substance , connective tissue , glycosaminoglycan , pathology , pathological , histamine , edema , chemistry , medicine , anatomy , endocrinology
T he overgrowth‐affected gingiva of patients treated with cyclosporin A after kidney transplant was examined with ultrastructural and histochemical methods to evaluate the involvement of connective tissue. Gingival overgrowth has the same clinical signs as local edema. The ultrastructural study showed that the dimensional increase was largely due to increased production of amorphous ground substance by fibroblasts, possibly resulting from an increased release of histamine by mast cells. The histochemical data revealed that the affected tissues contained higher levels of glycosaminoglycans and that cyclosporin A induced comparably high levels of glycosaminoglycans in in vitro cultures of fibroblasts obtained from normal gingiva. The combination of ultrastructural and histochemical data, therefore, strongly suggests that the response of the connective tissue in gingival overgrowth cannot be ignored and may be the main cause of the observed pathological condition. J Periodontol 1996;67:21–27 .