Indian Journal of Dental Research (Jan 2011)
Proliferative and morphologic characterization of buccal mucosal fibroblasts in areca nut chewers: A cell culture study
Abstract
Objective: To isolate, culture and characterize fibroblasts from the buccal mucosa of areca nut chewers with and without oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). Materials and Methods: Primary fibroblast cultures were established by the collagenase disaggregation technique and the phenotypic and growth characteristics were studied. Results: Cells cultured from OSF showed a statistically significant increase in both the post-mitotic fibroblast subpopulation and the population doubling time when compared with controls. Conclusion: There was a significant increase in the pro-fibrotic, post-mitotic subpopulation of fibroblasts in areca nut chewers with OSF.
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