Fig. 2.

Immunostaining for caveolin-1 (Cav-1) (a,b) or -3 (e) and double staining with Cav-1 (c) and nonspecific cholinesterase (nChE) reactivity (d) of the periodontal ligament. (a) Numerous immunoreactive elements are restricted to the alveolus-related part. Cav-1 immunopositive structures extend in the periodontal ligament to form the Ruffini endings, whose positive axon terminals have dendritic expansions. (b) Higher magnification of (a). The terminal Schwann cells, round in profile, are also positive in the Cav-1 immunoreaction. (c,d) The Cav-1 positive terminal Schwann cells (arrows in c) contain reaction products for nChE (arrows in d) in their cytoplasm. (e) No Cav-3 positive element is recognized in the periodontal ligament. Scale bars: 50 µm (a), 10 µm (b–d), 150 µm (e).