Ultrahistochemical analysis of glycosaminoglycan hydrolysis in the rat periodontal ligament. II. Aryl sulfatase and bone resorption.

The distribution of aryl sulfatase in the rat periodontal ligament was investigated by ultrastructural histochemistry. In the periodontal ligament aryl sulfatase was localized specifically in osteoclasts and in vicinal perivascular macrophages. Macrophages associated with bone formation did not stain. The authors interpret this specificity as a potential marker for osteoclast differentiation from macrophages--or as a further indication of the capacity of macrophages to modulate their enzymatic complement in response to the environment. To explain the absence of aryl sulfatase in areas of bone formation we suggest that different sulfate esters are mobilized from resorbing and mineralizing matrices, and that only the enzyme associated with bone resorption is histochemically detectable with the artificial substrates currently used.