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Electron microscopic and histochemical studies of the mononuclear odontoclast of the human
1Department of Oral Anatomy II, Hokkaido University School of Dentistry, Sapporo, Japan.
Background:
Osteoclasts and odontoclasts are multinucleated giant cells which resorb hard tissue by the ruffled borders. Recently, the authors reported the presence of a mononuclear osteoclast with a ruffled border in vitro. However, its presence in vivo has not been shown. To demonstrate the presence of a mononuclear odontoclast in humans, the present study used human deciduous teeth.
Methods:
After fixation and decalcification, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACPase) activity was detected with the azo dye method, and then TRACPase-positive cells were observed on resorbing areas of teeth. TRACPase-positive cells could be distinguished from other cells by light microscopy, and the cells for investigation were serially sectioned by alternating semithin and ultrathin sections to observe their ultrastructure and three-dimensional organization.
Results:
TRACPase activity was detected in both multinucleated odontoclasts and a mononuclear cell from serial sections. By electron microscopy, most of the multinucleated odontoclasts had ruffled borders and clear zones. A mononuclear TRACPase-positive cell with a ruffled border and clear zone was reconstructed three-dimensionally by NIKON COSMO-ZONE 2SA. The reconstruction showed that this cell had one irregularly shaped nucleus and a wide ring-shaped clear zone and a small ruffled border. Under the ruffled border, this cell formed a small lacuna on the dentin surface. The results suggested that this cell was a mononuclear odontoclast.
Conclusions:
The present study concludes that cells with ruffled borders and clear zones observed by transmission electron microscopy can be identified as odontoclasts or osteoclasts irrespective of the number of nuclei.