Calretinin-like immunoreactivity in the regenerating periodontal ruffini endings of the rat incisor following injury to the inferior alveolar nerve.

Regeneration of calretinin (CR)-like immunoreactive (IR) nerve fibers was investigated in the periodontal ligament of the rat lower incisor following resection of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN). In addition, the degeneration and regeneration processes of periodontal nerve fibers were examined by immunohistochemistry for protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5), a general neuronal marker. In normal animals, the periodontal nerve fibers showing PGP 9.5-like immunoreactivity (LI) formed either periodontal Ruffini endings with expanded arborization and thin free nerve endings in the alveolar half of the ligament. Thick CR-IR nerve fibers also appeared in a dendritic fashion in the same region, but thin CR-IR nerve fibers were rarely observed. Five days following resection of the IAN, a major population of PGP 9.5-IR and all CR-IR nerve fibers disappeared except for some thin PGP 9.5-IR nerves in the periodontal ligament. Regenerated PGP 9.5-IR nerve fibers appeared around 7 days following resection, in contrast to a very small number of regenerated CR-IR nerve fibers. Around 14-21 days following resection, the number and terminal morphology of regenerated PGP 9.5-IR nerve fibers were comparable to those observed in normal animals, but the number of regenerated CR-IR nerve fibers was still smaller than that of normal animals. The number of regenerated CR-IR nerve fibers increased to return to normal by 56 days following injury. The delay of expression of CR-LI in the regenerated periodontal Ruffini endings suggests that functional recovery of periodontal Ruffini endings occurred after the completion of the regeneration of periodontal nerve fibers.