Fig. 1.

Confirmation of the specificity of the “DGL-α-INT” antibody in DGL-α knockout mice. (A) Immunostaining in wild-type mice using an antibody raised against a 118 residue-long intracellular segment of the DGL-α protein visualizes the layered structure of the hippocampus. The dendritic layers contain high density of DGL-α immunoreactivity, whereas the somatic layers stand out as DGL-α immunonegative. (B) In contrast, immunostaining in the hippocampus of a DGL-α knockout mouse shows no similar immunoreactive profiles, demonstrating antibody specificity. The sections presented in (A) and (B) were incubated in parallel throughout the immunostaining and dehydration procedures to ensure unequivocal comparison. Note the similar intensity of dark tone in the white matter generated by osmification, which confirms identical treatment. Open boxes denote the positions of corresponding insets in the CA1 subfield (C in A, D in B). (C) At higher magnification, immunoreactivity for DGL-α covers the stratum radiatum in wild-type mice. The characteristic punctate staining outlines the major apical trunk of pyramidal cell dendrites, which along with pyramidal cell somata are largely devoid of DGL-α immunoreactivity. (D) The dense DGL-α immunopositive staining in the neuropil is absent in the hippocampus of DGL-α knockout mice. Abbreviations: rad, stratum radiatum; pyr, stratum pyramidale. Scale bars: (A–B) 500 µm; (C–D, shown in D) 20 µm.