1992 Volume 34 Issue 1 Pages 179-186
This study examined the distribution of type IV collagen and laminin, 2 distinct basement membrane antigens, during post-gingivectomy wound healing. Experimental gingivectomies were performed on the palatal gingiva of Wistar rats. Type IV collagen and laminin were identified by the immunoperoxidase method. Type N collagen and laminin were detected in the basement membrane zone of normal epithelium, but neither was present in the internal basal lamina. During the 2. `4 days following surgery, laminin was observed on the tip of the migrating epithelium, and type IV collagen was ditributed more distally than laminin. During the period 5. `7 days after surgery, type IV collagen and laminin were detected throughut the basement membrane zone with the exception of the internal basal lamina. These results suggest that type IV collagen and laminin rather than functioning as extracellular provisional matrix for migrating cells, have an important role in maintaining the normal epithelium.
