Figure 2

Localization of sympathetic nerves around sweat glands and neurons in sympathetic ganglion of wild-type and dt/dt mice. Serial sections of footpads were stained with hematoxylin or antibody against PGP 9.5 in wild-type (A, B, E and F) and dt/dt mice (C, D, G and H). In normal mice skin, numerous PGP 9.5-immunoreactive autonomic fibers were visible in dermis (A and B). Conversely, only some nerve fibers were identifiable in dt/dt mice (C and D). High-power photomicrographs revealed that autonomic nerves innervated sweat gland and displayed dense and strong PGP 9.5 immunoreactivity in normal skin (E and F), whereas only fragmented autonomic nerves could be observed in dt/dt mice (G and H). From the observation of lumbar sympathetic ganglia, many neurons could be recognizable in the section of ganglia of wild-type mice (I and J). However, only fewer neurons could be found in dt/dt mice compared with wild-type mice (K and L). Scale bars = 40 μm in A-H; 50 μm in I-L.