Figure 2. Abnormalities of superior cervical and stellate ganglia in Alk^F1178L KI mice.

(A) Expression of Alk mRNA in the sympathetic ganglia of Wt animals determined by RT-qPCR from E16 to adult stages. Alk expression was calculated relative to the mean expression at P250. (B) Enlargment of SCG and stellate ganglia in adult Alk^F1178L KI mice. (C) Example of increased size of SCG and stellate ganglia at birth in Alk^F1178L KI mice compared with littermate controls. (D) Quantification of SCG and stellate ganglia size at P0. (E) Immunofluorescence with islet1 and ki67 antibodies was performed on SCG sections of Wt, heterozygous (Hz) and homozygous (Ho) Alk^F1178L embryos at E14.5. (F) Quantification of islet1-positive cells and double positive cells for islet1 and ki67 revealed a significant increase in the number of neuroblasts of the SCG and stellate ganglia in mutant embryos as well as an increased proliferation. Bonferroni Multiple Comparisons Tests were used to evaluate differences between the groups (n=5 samples in each group). Error bars represent standard deviation.