title: Immunohistochemical detection of heme oxygenase-2 in the periodontal Ruffini ending of the rat incisor.
abstract: The present study was carried out to examine the occurrence of heme oxygenase-2 (HO-2) in the periodontal ligament of the rat incisor. HO-2-like immunoreactive (-IR) structures showed dendritic profiles, resembling the Ruffini endings, in the alveolar half of the ligament of rat incisor. Neither thin nerve fibers nor perivascular nerve fibers displayed HO-2-like immunoreactivity (-LI). No non-neural elements exhibited HO-2-LI. Electron microscopy revealed that immunoreactions were diffusely observed in the axon terminals of the Ruffini endings, but neither terminal Schwann cells nor Schwann sheaths contained immunoreactions for HO-2. Both most neurons in the trigeminal ganglion and trigeminal mesencephalic nucleus showed HO-2-LI. The presence of HO-2 in the periodontal Ruffini endings and its absence in the periodontal thin nerve fibers suggest the involvement of carbon monoxide produced by HO-2 in mechanoreception in the periodontal ligament.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Osaka University Faculty of Dentistry, 1-8, Yamadaoka, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Atsumi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurisu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wakisaka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003712:Dendrites / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) / Q000032:analysis*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007180:Incisor; D008297:Male; D009411:Nerve Endings / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009474:Neurons / Q000201:enzymology; D010519:Periodontium / Q000294:innervation*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012583:Schwann Cells / Q000166:cytology; D012668:Trigeminal Ganglion / Q000201:enzymology; D014278:Trigeminal Nuclei / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing); C105245:heme oxygenase-2