title: Proliferative potential of the attached cells of human junctional epithelium.
abstract: Samples of the attached cells of junctional epithelium (DAT cells) were obtained during extractions of eight erupted bicuspids from young healthy subjects. Each extracted tooth, with its layer of living DAT cells, was incubated for three hours in minimum essential medium (MEM) containing 5 microCi/ml of 3H-thymidine, and prepared for autoradiography. An average of 3 labeled cells per 1 mm of the epithelial attachment was found along the vertical dimension of the tooth. The attachment of an individual cell to the tooth surface was found to be a prerequisite for the cell's DNA synthesis suggesting that the tooth has a nonspecific epigenetic role in defining the functional phenotype of the DAT cells. Even the most coronal DAT cells located about 200 microns apical from the plaque border, were found to synthesize DNA. The finding suggests that mechanisms which regulate the multiplication of DAT cells are involved in the preservation of the integrity of the dentogingival junction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Salonen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001345:Autoradiography; D001641:Bicuspid; D002455:Cell Division; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004846:Epithelial Attachment / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D004247:DNA