Figure 6.

Double-confocal microscopy for α-tubulin with T1R3 in trachea of Zucker rats. The immunofluorescence staining shows expression of α-tubulin (red) with T1R3 (green) in the epithelium of lean (lines A, B) and obese (lines C, D) Zucker rats. In lean rats, α-tubulin and T1R3 are colocalized in some spots on the cilia of tracheal cells (line A). T1R3 labeling is also observed in the apical cytoplasm beneath the cilia, and on the basolateral membrane of ciliated cells. Double-labeling is not observed when anti-α-tubulin antibody was omitted (line B). A reduced colabelling pattern of α-tubulin and T1R3 is observed in obese compared with lean rats, (line C). α-tubulin-positive cells lacking T1R3 expression, and only T1R3-positive cells are also observed (line D). Scale bars: 10 µm.