Fig 3. Pax6/Vimentin double immunostaining reveals dynamic changes in the organization of precursor cells throughout pineal ontogeny.

Panels include higher magnification images of the insets shown at 60x and 40x in Figs 1 and 2 immunostained for Pax6 (green) and vimentin (VIM, red). (A¹-A³) In the earliest stages Pax6/VIM double-positive precursor cells display a radial distribution. (B¹-D³) After fusion of the neuroepithelium, Pax6/VIM+ cells are arranged mainly as rosette-like structures. (E¹-E³) In the adult pineal gland (PG) individual cells positive for Pax6 and/or vimentin are dispersed throughout the parenchyma. White arrowheads: Pax6^high/VIM^high cells. Yellow arrowheads: Pax6^high/VIM^low cells. White arrows: Pax6^low/VIM^high cells. (A¹-E³) 3x, 4x, 3x, 2.5x and 2.6x digital zooms of the insets shown in Figs 1B²–1B⁴, 1F²–1F⁴ and 1G²–1G⁴ and 2A²–2A⁴ and 2C²–2C⁴, respectively; scale bar: 10 μm. E, embryonic day. P, postnatal day.