Issue: Vojnosanit Pregl 2016; Vol. 73 (No. 5)

Quantification of mast cells in different stages of periodontal disease

Authors:
Dragan Marjanović*, Zlatibor Andjelković†, Zlata Brki懧, Goran Videnović*, Meliha Šehalić*, Vladimir Matvjenko*, Snežana Leštarević‡, Nadica Djordjević*

Download full articele PDF

Background/Aim. Mast cells are mononuclear cells originating from bone marrow. They produce various biologically active sub-stances, which allow them to actively participate in immune and in-flammatory processes associated with periodontal disease. The study focused on distribution and density of mast cells in healthy gingiva as well as in different stages of periodontal disease. Meth-ods. The material used for this purpose was gingival biopsies taken from 96 patients classified into 4 groups: healthy gingiva, gingivitis, initial and severe periodontal disease. Toluidine blue staining ac-cording to Spicer was utilized for identifying mast cells. Results. Basing on our study, the density of mast cells in the gingival tissue increases with the progression of the infection, which means they are more numerous in gingivitis compared to healthy gingiva, as well as in periodontal disease compared to gingivitis. Conclusion. Increase in the number of mast cells in the infected gingiva can be correlated with an increased influx of inflammatory cells from blood circulation into the gingival stroma, as well as with the colla-gen lysis, since these cells produce substances with collagenolytic potential. Based on the distribution of mast cells, it could be con-cluded that in the evolution of periodontal disease there are signifi-cant dynamic alterations in migration and localization of these cells.