The most effective and efficient way to regenerate lost tissue is to use tissue factors that act on the targeted tissues during histogenesis. Revealing the types of tissue factors responsible for or related to the formation of cementum and the periodontal ligament (PDL) during periodontal regeneration is an extremely important subject. To discover the specific factors involved with the PDL, we produced a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) against PDL using periodontal tissue as the antigen. Various rat tissues were immunostained for the MoAb. The MoAb reacted with the PDL, connective tissue under the oral gingival epithelium, connective tissue beneath the epithelia covering the maxilla and mandible, and the connective tissue of the femoral surface. However, this MoAb did not stain the deeper connective tissue of the gingiva, oral gingival sulcular epithelium, buccal mucosa, or connective tissue on the surface of the maxilla facing the nasal cavity. It also did not stain, muscle, nerve, blood vessels, bone marrow, pulp, dentin or cementum. We concluded that this MoAb is a useful tool for investigating PDL regeneration.
