Incidence of mast cells in oral inflammatory lesions: A pilot study

Abstract

Mast cells are also known as unicellular endocrine glands due to their ability to release a wide variety of chemical mediators that have a potent biological action on the target tissues. These actions include neo-angiogenesis, recruitment of inflammatory cells, stimulation of fibroblasts, etc. The role of these cells in neo­angiogenesis of oral squamous cell carcinomas has been studied and these cells have been shown to promote new vessel formation. In inflammatory lesions of the oral cavity, neo-vascularization and presence of inflammatory cells is an expected finding. However, the role of mast cells in these lesions is still obscure. In this short study, we used toluidine blue as a special stain to stain mast cells in 15 cases of inflammatory lesions and correlate their presence with the state of vascularity and inflammation and probably suggest a role for mast cells in these common oral inflammatory lesions. We found that there was an inverse relationship between mast cells, vascularity, and inflammation probably suggesting a role for mast cells in these common oral inflammatory lesions. This was contradictory to earlier studies that showed a direct relationship between mast cells, vascularity, and inflammation