A HISTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF PROTEIN-BOUND SULFHYDRYL AND DISULFIDE GROUPS IN NORMAL AND INFLAMED HUMAN GINGIVA

¹ The Ziskin Memorial Research Laboratory, the Department of Oral Pathology and Periodontology, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Mass.

Sulfhydryl and disulfide groups were demonstrated in normal and inflamed human gingiva with the Barrnett-Seligman technic. The findings indicate that in normal human gingiva sulfhydryl groups are present in the epithelium and connective tissue. The concentration of sulfhydryls is greater in the keratinized and parakeratinized layers than in the deeper layers of the epithelium. Disulfide groups are distributed uniformly throughout all the epithelial layers. It has been assumed that the process of keratinization entails the oxidation of sulfhydryls to disulfide groups.^{1, 5} Our findings show the distribution of both these groups of substances in the gingiva but provide no basis for evaluating the relationships of these substances to the processes of gingival keratinization.

There is an increase in the sulfhydryl content in proliferating epithelium in areas of gingival inflammation. This increase is consistent with the identification of sulfhydryl groups with the processes of cell division and growth.^{4, 8} The diminished sulfhydryl and disulfide content in epithelium undergoing degeneration may be attributable to the loss of cellular and intercellular substance caused by the degenerative processes.