Ultrastructural changes of basal lamina and anchoring fibrils of gingiva in vitro

Biopsies of human gingiva were studied with special reference to the ultrastructural changes of the basal lamina and anchoring fibrils occurring after periods of in vitro cultivation. Characteristic changes were found in the basal lamina and anchoring fibrils. In the early stages in vitro, the basal lamina showed detachment from the epithelial cells, interruption, irregularity in thickness, and reduplication; the anchoring fibrils increased in number. In the later stages in vitro, the basal lamina showed a more severe detachment and fragmentation, proliferation into the connective tissue, and face–to–face coalescence, while the anchoring fibrils became stable in number and free of association with the connective tissue components.