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. 2018 Oct 15;7:e41973. doi: 10.7554/eLife.41973

Figure 1. NMJs in a single motor-unit of WT/YFP mice are stable.

(A) Images at different focal planes of the same MU arbor from a WT/YFP mice during four sessions, with a higher magnification on-focus image of one NMJ (digital zoom, dashed box in low magnification). Green: YFP-labeled axon; Red: nAChR. Symbols (Δ, *, ●) identify landmarks used to confirm that the same region was imaged. (B) MU dynamic diagram of the MU shown in (A) showing that all NMJs within that motor arbor are stable in WT/YFP mice. Black lines and dots represent the axonal arborization and branching points respectively, while each box represents a single NMJ. (C) Histogram showing the average proportion of NMJs which are innervated (green) by the MU, showing that all MU preserved their NMJs in WT/YFP mice. Individual results for all MUs from WT mice (N = 5), including graphical representations, are included in Figure 1—source data 1. Details on how NMJs were classified, with representative examples, are presented in Figure 1—figure supplement 1. Scale bar, low magnification: 100 μm; high magnification: 25 μm.

Figure 1—source data 1. Spreadsheet for the innervation status of all NMJs in each MU arbor imaged in WT/YFP mice and individual graphical representations.
In the spreadsheet, a value of ‘1’ represents an NMJ fully innervated by the MU while a value of ‘x’ represents an NMJ which could not be fully resolved on that session. The global percentages for each MU are included below each table with individual histograms for each MU. The histograms are also compiled in the PDF file.
elife-41973-fig1-data1.zip (465.1KB, zip)
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.41973.005

Figure 1.

Figure 1—figure supplement 1. Classification of NMJs within single MUs.

Figure 1—figure supplement 1.

Representative examples of the initial and subsequent observation of NMJs classified as completely innervated (inn.) (A) or partially innervated (B) repaired (C) re-innervated (partially or completely) by the MU (D) as a complete (E) or a partial (F) MU expansion or finally as lost by the MU (G) (Green: YFP-labeled axon; Red: nAChR). For each example, the MU dynamic diagram and the color- and pattern-coded classification for the supplementary and main figures (simplified) is shown. Arrowheads in (C) indicate the postsynaptic site which re-innervated, the arrow in (D) (3) shows that a small part of the endplate re-innervated and big arrows in (E) represent newly innervated NMJ (expansion). Note that the NMJ presented in (D) is the same as the one presented in Figure 2A4. Scale Bar: 25 μm.