Results of quantitative RT–PCR to detect SdhD expression in the superior cervical ganglia of wild-type (flox/+) and mutant (flox/−, and flox/− cre) mice. Note the non-significant difference between flox/− (heterozygous) and flox/− cre mice, suggesting no major increase in deletion after GFAP-cre expression. Data are presented as mean ± SEM (n = 3–5 mice). Statistical significance: *P ≤ 0.05; **P ≤ 0.01. The ANOVA test with appropriate post hoc analysis was applied.
Superior cervical ganglion (SCG) sections from control or hGFAP-SDHD P15 mice, immunostained with GFAP antibody. Note the relatively low expression of GFAP in the adult SCG as compared to Schwann cells of nearby nerves (asterisk).
Intense X-gal staining (24 h) of an SCG section from an hGFAP-cre/floxed LacZ mouse, to label derivatives of GFAP+ cells. Note the absence of staining in the large sympathetic neurons of the organ (asterisks), indicating that they do not derive from hGFAP+ neural stem cells. Scale bar: 20 μm.
Mild X-gal staining (12 h) of an SCG section from an hGFAP-cre/floxed LacZ mouse, to label derivatives of GFAP+ cells. Large sympathetic neurons are stained with TH antibody (asterisks). Note that X-gal+ precipitates (arrowheads) are always outside the neuronal somas, confirming that these neurons do not derive from hGFAP+ neural stem cells. Scale bar: 20 μm.
