Figure 1.

Immunofluorescent localization of claudin-1 at the distal end and at the supranuclear region of maturation ameloblasts. Cryosections of rat mandibles were analyzed for claudin expression using immunofluorescence. The tissue at the right end of the micrographs in (A) and (B) is continuous with the tissue shown at the left end of the micrographs in (B) and (C), respectively. The large arrow shows incisal direction. Single and double asterisks show regions of the SA bands with and without supranuclear reactivity of claudin-1, respectively. RA, ruffle-ended ameloblast; SA, smooth-ended ameloblast. Bar = 100 μm.