  The search for classical or quantum combinatorial invariants of compact
n-dimensional manifolds (n=3,4) plays a key role both in topological field
theories and in lattice quantum gravity. We present here a generalization of
the partition function proposed by Ponzano and Regge to the case of a compact
3-dimensional simplicial pair $(M^3, \partial M^3)$. The resulting state sum
$Z[(M^3, \partial M^3)]$ contains both Racah-Wigner 6j symbols associated with
tetrahedra and Wigner 3jm symbols associated with triangular faces lying in
$\partial M^3$. The analysis of the algebraic identities associated with the
combinatorial transformations involved in the proof of the topological
invariance makes it manifest a common structure underlying the 3-dimensional
models with empty and non empty boundaries respectively. The techniques
developed in the 3-dimensional case can be further extended in order to deal
with combinatorial models in n=2,4 and possibly to establish a hierarchy among
such models. As an example we derive here a 2-dimensional closed state sum
model including suitable sums of products of double 3jm symbols, each one of
them being associated with a triangle in the surface.
