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Figure 2. Immunohistochemical localization of eNOS and iNOS in healthy and inflamed human dental pulp. eNOS in: (A) normal pulp, (B) hyperemic pulp, and (C) irreversible pulpitis. iNOS in: (D) normal pulp, (E) hyperemic, and (F) irreversible pulpitis. Magnification, 25X. eNOS was visualized in the endothelial cells (arrows), odontoblasts (arrowheads), and in some fibroblasts (*) as well. In control pulp, the immunohistochemical localization revealed a lack of iNOS immunoreactivity. However, in hyperemic pulp and irreversible pulpitis, iNOS immunopositivity was characteristic mainly in the accumulated leukocytes and in the area adjacent to that of dense leukocytic infiltration (arrows). Densitometric analyses of eNOS and iNOS immunoreactivity in the 3 groups are presented as integrated optical density (IOD) and expressed as means ± SD of 5 pulps in each group, with 9 independent measurements in each pulp. In Table 1 (Appendix), significant differences are shown in all 3 groups of eNOS and iNOS IOD as well (*p < 0.05, A vs. B; *p < 0.05, B vs. C; *p < 0.05, A vs. C in both cases).
