Fig. 1.

Detection of apoptosis and inflammatory markers in the gingival vascular endothelium of patients with periodontitis and healthy controls. (a) Representative immunofluorescence images showing co-staining of the endothelial marker CD31 (red) with the apoptotic marker TUNEL (green) in gingival tissue sections. Intense green fluorescence in CD31-positive vessels indicates apoptotic endothelial cells in periodontitis specimens. (b) Colocalization of CD31 (red) and IL-6 (green) highlights the expression of inflammatory cytokines. Abbreviations: CD31 = Cluster of Differentiation 31 (endothelial cell marker); TUNEL = Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling; IL-6 = Interleukin-6.