Figure 6. Confirmation of the expression of the tyrosine kinase receptor c-kit and vimentin in pig bladder using immunohistochemistry.

Representative sections from paraffin-embedded mucosal and denuded-detrusor strips from adult and juvenile pig bladder; mucosal section showing vimentin-positive cells in the suburothelial and lamina propria region of the adult pig bladder (arrows) (a); vimentin-positive cells were also observed on the edge of and between smooth muscle bundles in denuded-detrusor sections in adult pig bladder (arrows) (b); mucosal section showing c-kit-positive spindle-shaped cells in the suburothelial and lamina propria region of the adult pig bladder (arrows) (c); c-kit positive cells were also observed on the edge and in between smooth muscle bundles (arrows) in adult pig bladder (d). A similar pattern of c-kit immunostaining was observed in sections of mucosa (e) and denuded-detrusor (f) from juvenile pig bladder. Negative control (c-kit peptide) (g) negative control (minus primary antibody) (h). sm, smooth muscle; lp, lamina propria; U, urothelium.