Fig. 5.

TP63 expression in bladder tissues from mice with SCI. Bladders from sham-treated mice (A) or those with SCI (B–E) were fixed and processed for confocal microscopy. Tissues were immunolabeled with a TP63-specific antibody, TRITC-phalloidin, and TO-PRO-3. A representative region of urothelium was imaged, and a projection of a Z-stack is shown for each condition. Examples of relatively large superficial umbrella cells (UC) and those regions where superficial umbrella cells are replaced by small superficial cells (SC) are indicated. Note that most small superficial cells are TP63⁺ in animals with SCI. The sham and SCI experiments included 3 animals per group and were performed on 5 separate occasions. Representative images are presented.