Polar and neutral lipids of epithelium and connective tissue of pig gingiva

Abstract

Pig gingiva was separated by collagenase treatment into epithelium and connective tissue components. No difference in DNA content was noted, but the RNA was significantly decreased during the separation procedure, especially in connective tissue. The collagen content of the connective tissue component was twice as high as that of epithelium. The neutral lipid and phospholipid content of each component was determined, and the phospholipid content of epithelium was found to be significantly higher. Significant differences between the layers were also found in triglycerides and cholesterol, which were higher in connective tissue. Most of the free fatty acids, previously found to be rather high in whole gingiva, were found in the epithelium. The fatty acid composition of each of the neutral lipids and phospholipids is reported.