Fragmentation of oxytalan fibres in periodontal ligament (pdl) by neutrophil elastase. (a)–(c) Sagittal sections of the distal side of the distal root of rat mandibular first molars. Histological sections were stained with aldehyde fuchsin-staining. (d) Number of fibre fragments in sections. (e) Length of fibre fragment in sections. Specimens were treated with 0 (A), 50 (B) μg/mL of neutrophil elastase (50), or 50 μg/mL of neutrophil elastase +5 mM sivelestat (elastase inhibitor) (c) (50S). Each column and bar represent the mean + 1 SD of six animals. d: dentine; b: bone. ∗ P <.05 compared with the control; † P <.05 compared with the elastase-treated specimens, reproduced from Ujiie et al. (2008) [48], by permission.
