Fig. 2.

Changes in NF200-IR fibre innervation in the upper dermis of the paw skin of cuff and SNI rats. Photomicrographs show representative examples of NF200-IR fibre innervation (red) in the plantar paw skin of sham animals (a), and 2 (b), 6 (c) and 16 weeks (d) after cuff. Representative images of NF200-IR innervation in the plantar paw skin of sham animals (f) and 2 (g), 6 (h) and 16 (i) weeks after SNI. Representative images of NF200-IR innervation in the lateral paw skin of sham animals (k) and 2 (l), 6 (m) and 16 (n) weeks after SNI. Bar graphs show average NF200-IR fibre length (µm) per unit area of upper dermis (µm²) in the plantar paw skin at various times after cuff (e) and SNI (j) and in the lateral paw skin after SNI (o). Each point represents the mean ± SEM (n = 4–6 per group); *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001 by one way ANOVA with Dunnett’s post hoc; scale bar 50 µm