A Pilot Study of the Primary Culture of the Oral Mucosa Keratinocytes by the Direct Explant Technique

Introduction: A reliable source of cultured keratinocytes is essential as a component of oral mucosa substitutes to treat burns and wounds of the oral and maxillofacial region. Primary monolayer cell cultures have been also extremely helpful in the study of the basic biology and responses to stimuli, of both oral and skin keratinocytes, and many studies have used them. There are two techniques in primary culture, the enzymatic and direct explant techniques. The direct explant technique has been used for 30 years in the culture of human gingival and buccal tissues and has appeared to be a successful technique in culturing human oral keratinocytes. In addition, it has been suggested that the direct explant technique obtains the first keratinocytes yield faster than the enzymatic technique. Aim: The aim of this pilot study is to present our experience in ex vivo production of oral mucosa keratinocytes by using the explant technique. Methods: The explant technique was used to cultivate oral mucosa keratinocytes. Results: The total success rate of primary culture of the oral epithelial cells by direct explant technique was 88.9%. No contamination of microorganisms in primary cell cultures was obtained. Conclusion: Within the limited numbers of samples used in the current pilot study, it can be concluded that the explant technique piloted in this study appears to be a simple and successful technique in the primary culture of oral mucosa keratinocytes. A larger study is required to confirm this finding.