Figure 2.
BCs comprise a static population in the adult trachea, but are generated by a population of proliferative progenitor cells during perinatal development. (A) Double-labeled image with Nomarski overlay shows 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU; red)–labeled epithelial cell nuclei near an unlabeled Gα-gustducin (green) immunoreactive BC in an adult mouse, 20 days after BrdU treatment. (B) Percentages of tracheal epithelial cells and BCs labeled with BrdU at 5–20 days after BrdU treatment of adult mice. Bars depict the mean ± SEM (n = 4) for each point. (C) Double-labeled image shows Ki67 (red)–labeled epithelial cell nuclei near a Gα-gustducin (green) immunoreactive BC in a trachea from a 35-day-old mouse. (D) Percentages of perinatal tracheal epithelial cells and BCs immunoreactive for the mitotic marker Ki67. Bars depict the mean ± SEM (n = 3) for each time. (E) Double-labeled image with Nomarski overlay shows a BrdU (red)–labeled, Gα-gustducin (green) immunoreactive BC in a 35-day-old mouse, 30 days after BrdU treatment. (F) Percentages of perinatal tracheal epithelial cells and BCs labeled with BrdU at different times after the injection of 5-day-old mice. Bars depict the mean ± SEM (n = 4) for each time point. **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001, according to χ2 test. Scale bars = 10 μm.