Figure 3. Immunohistochemical and genetic identification of the sensory terminals and glial cells of lanceolate nerve endings.

A, anti-neurofilament protein (NFP)-like immunoreactivity is localized in structures identified as preterminal axons (pa) and sensory terminals in a mouse pinna follicle. Several terminals are shown enlarged in the inset. Epifluorescence; scale bar indicates 10 μm. B, structures identified as sensory terminals also react strongly with anti-synapsin I antibody. Mouse pinna, epifluorescence; scale bar indicates 20 μm. C, synaptopHluorin shows the expression of the v-SNARE synaptobrevin in the lanceolate terminals in a very similar pattern to NFP and synaptophysin. Mouse pinna, epifluorescence; scale as in B. D, anti-S-100 antibody, in contrast, labels paired structures identified as glial cells (gc) and their processes in a mouse pinna follicle. Pairing of the processes is particularly apparent in the enlarged inset and is distinct from the unpaired processes seen in A. Epifluorescence; scale bar indicates 10 μm. E, a follicle from rat pinna double labelled with antibodies against synaptophysin (red) and S-100 (green). Where the ending is precisely orthogonal within the section (white arrows), individual red profiles can be seen clearly to be almost entirely enclosed by paired green profiles, identified as sensory terminals and glial cell processes, respectively. Laser-scanning confocal microscopy; scale bar indicates 5 μm.