A SIMPLE AND RELIABLE TECHNIQUE FOR CULTURING OF HUMAN ORAL KERATINOCYTES AND FIBROBLASTS

Cultures of non-malignant oral cells are needed for many applications in the field of oral biology. We describe an efficient and rapid metho d for the culture of both keratinocytes and fibroblasts isolated from oral tissue, uvulas from patients undergoing reconstructive surgery an d non-cancerous tissue from oral cancer patients. High cell yields wit h a high purity could be obtained. The technique is described in detai l with respect to isolation of the cell types, the best way to propaga te for over 5 passages and to measure cell proliferation in a colorime tric assay. Culture was successful in over 80% of cases for keratinocy tes and over 63% for fibroblasts. Problems encountered were the risk o f microbiological infection, the size of the specimen and the type of culture medium used. The potential applications of these primary cell cultures are mentioned.