Oral Mucosal Fibroblasts (OMF)

Oral mucosal fibroblasts are isolated from oral mucosal tissue; Each wall of the oral cavity is covered by mucosa, which is histologically composed of epithelium and lamina propria, and is connected to deep tissues through the submucosal layer. The front of the oral mucosa is connected to the skin of the lips, and the back continues with the pharyngeal mucosa, making it the forefront of the digestive tract. Therefore, its structure and function have certain characteristics of the skin and digestive mucosa. Human oral mucosal fibroblasts mainly come from the tissue of the lamina propria of the oral mucosa. Fibroblasts are the main cellular component of connective tissue, derived from mesenchymal cells during embryonic stages. Fibroblasts are relatively large, with clear contours and mostly protruding spindle shaped or star shaped flat structures. Their nuclei are regular oval shaped, and their nucleoli are large and prominent. Fibroblasts have vigorous functional activities, weak alkaline cytoplasm, and obvious protein synthesis and secretion activities. Under certain conditions, they can achieve mutual transformation with fibroblasts; Fibroblasts play a crucial role in repairing varying degrees of cellular degeneration, necrosis, and tissue defects.