Ultrastructural Changes of Single Cilia in the Junctional Epithelium Following Application of Protease

Cilia may be organisms that are involved in such a modification process since single cilium has been reported presence in various organs and tissues. It also appears that even a single cilium has a sensory or chemoreceptive function which supplements that of the epithelial cells. Used for this study were the upper first molars of 28 Wistar rats. In a control group that was also observed, physiological saline was topically applied to the palatal sulci, whereas in the studied group, prior to the removal of the molars, bacterial protease was applied in the same method. The animals were treated once a day for 1, 3 and 5 days. Differences in the distribution and structure of single cilium in healthy junctional epithelium (JE) and in inflamed JE have been examined using an electron microscope. In the control group, single cilia were observed in the JE cells of all layers. At 1 day in the treated group, only in the cells of the basal layer, cilia were found. In the same group at 3 and 5 day, no cilium was present in the cells of all JE layers. From the above observations, it would appear that each cilium has a sensory or chemoreceptive function. It can be speculated that single cilia may play an important role in the inflammatory response.