Histomorphology of Rete Ridges and their Relation to Inflammation in Oral Mucosal Lesions

Rete ridges are epithelial extensions toward the underlying connective tissue in skin and mucous membranes. Given the advances in tissue engineering in recent years, rete ridges have become the center of attention. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the shape of rete ridges (RR) in different oral mucosal lesions for possible histological differential diagnosis and their possible relation with inflammation for better understanding of their histogenesis.
This retrospective, descriptive, analytical study was performed on 154 oral lesions classified as epithelial (E), connective tissue (Ct) and mucocutaneous (Mc) lesions. RRs were evaluated under a light microscope at ×100 as flat or hyperplastic. Inflammation at epithelium‒connective tissue interface was evaluated in 5 consecutive high-power fields (×400). Data were analyzed with chi-squared test (α = 0.05).
In 87%, 80% and 58% of Ct, E and Mc lesions, hyperplastic RRs were seen, respectively (p value The results of the present study showed that rete ridges in oral mucosal lesions were hyperplastic predominantly, indicating that inflammation is not the reason for the hyperplastic nature of rete ridges. Further studies are recommended.