Fig. 3.

Transverse sections of the inner ear showing Piezo2 immunoreactivity in opossums at different ages. The filled arrows point to examples of Piezo2 labeling at the surface of the maculae and ampullary crest whereas the filled arrowheads point labeling in the otoconial membrane. (A) At P0, Piezo2 labelling is observed in the utricule (U) but not in the saccule (S; the empty arrow points the macula). (B) Saccule of a P7 opossum. (C) Utricule of a P14 opossum. (D) Utricule and saccule of a P21 opossum. (E) Ampullary crest of a P14 opossum. (F,G) Magnifications of the utricular maculae shown respectively in (C) and (D). Dorsal is up in all microphotographs. Asterix in A-C indicate some blood vessels showing intrinsic fluorescence. Scale bars, 100 µm for A-D; 20 µm for E-G.