Histological characterization of the human masticatory oral mucosa. A histochemical and immunohistochemical study

Abstract

Background: Histology of human oral mucosa is closely related with its function and anatomical location, and a proper characterization of the human masticatory oral mucosa could be very useful in periodontal pathology.

Objective: In the present work, we have carried out a comprehensive study in order to determine the main histological features of parakeratinized (POM) and orthokeratinized (OOM) masticatory human oral mucosa using light and electron microscopy.

Methods: To perform this, we have used several histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical methods to detect key markets at the epithelial, basement membrane and connective tissue levels.

Results: Our results demonstrated that POM and OOM share many histological similarities, as expected. However, important differences were observed at the epithelial layer of POM, that was significantly thicker than the epithelial layer found in OOM, especially due to a higher number of cells at the stratum spinosum. The expression pattern of CK10 and filaggrin revealed intense signal expression in OOM as compared to POM. Collagen and proteoglycans were more abundant in OOM stroma than in POM. No differences were found for blood vessels and basement membrane.

Conclusion: These results may contribute to a better understanding of the pathological conditions affecting the human masticatory oral mucosa. In addition, these findings could be useful for the generation of different types of oral mucosa by tissue engineering techniques.

Research highlights: Microscopical features of parakeratinized and orthokeratinized masticatory human oral mucosa showed important differences at both, epithelial and stromal levels. Parakeratinized masticatory human oral mucosa exert thicker epithelial layer, especially, at the stratum spinosum in comparison to orthokeratinized human oral mucosa. Cytokeratin 10 and filaggrin human epithelial markers were intensively expressed in orthokeratinized masticatory human oral mucosa in comparison to parakeratinized masticatory human oral mucosa. At the stromal level, orthokeratinized masticatory human oral mucosa exhibit higher levels of collagen and proteoglycans than parakeratinized masticatory oral mucosa. The deep knowledge of histological features of masticatory oral mucosa could lead to a better understanding of oral mucosa pathology and advanced treatments.