Differential proliferation of fibroblasts cultured from hereditary gingival fibromatosis and normal gingiva

Hereditary gingival fibromatosis (HGF) is an oral condition characterized b y the enlargement of the gingiva of both the maxilla and mandible. To study the cell proliferation index of fibroblasts from HGF and normal gingiva (N G), cell cultures from 4 members of the same family with HGF and from 4 hea lthy patients were established. Our results obtained from 6 different cell proliferation assays clearly showed that the cell proliferation rate was si gnificantly higher in fibroblasts from HGF than from normal gingiva. HGF an d control fibroblasts in subconfluent culture densities were typically spin dle, but in saturation density HGF cells were shorter than control cells. T hese data suggest that the higher proliferative index of HGF fibroblasts po ssibly has a role in the pathogenesis of gingival outgrowth in HGF patients .