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. 2017 Sep 19;12(9):e0184916. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184916

Fig 4. Innervation is reduced in the cornea and lacrimal gland of Aire -/- mice.

Fig 4

(A) Confocal images of a whole mount cornea labeled for TUBB3 show the Aire.NOD -/- cornea are devoid of nerves (top left panel). TUBB3 immunostaining of cross-sections of the cornea reveals a similar lack of nerves in the corneal epithelium while stromal nerves are unaffected (lower left panel). (B) Nerves are also lost in the Aire -/- lacrimal gland. Global innervation of the lacrimal gland is shown (upper panel) and a zoomed in view of the encircled regions (lower panel) highlight reduced innervation of the remaining epithelium in the Aire -/- lacrimal gland. (C) Acetylcholine esterase (AChE) production by the Aire -/- lacrimal gland is significantly lower compared to WT lacrimal gland. (D) Representative images of ductal cells in the Aire -/- lacrimal gland expressing SEMA3b. (E) Similarly, as shown in the accompanying bar graph, Sema3b transcript levels are increased in the Aire -/- lacrimal gland. Transcript levels were normalized to the housekeeping gene Rps29 in wild type controls. Data are expressed as means±SEM. n = 4–7 mice per group. *p<0.05. Scale bar = 50 μm