Figure 3.

Time course of Wallerian degeneration in ΔNLS Wld^S/YFP-H transgenics at 3, 5, and 14 d following sciatic nerve transection. A, Representative confocal z-series stacks of sciatic and tibial nerves from wild type, heterozygous Wld^S (“Wld^S het”), and ΔNLS Wld^S transgenics (“ΔNLS Wld^S het”) additionally expressing YFP in a representative axonal subset (YFP-H transgene) to facilitate longitudinal imaging of axons 3, 5, and 14 d after transection. No interruptions are detectable in hemizygous ΔNLS Wld^S nerves, whereas axons in nerves from Wld^S heterozygotes increasingly fragment at the indicated time points (asterisks). Note that we observed proximo-distal gradients of axonal fragmentation along the sciatic/tibial nerve consistent with earlier data (Beirowski et al., 2005). B, Quantification of axonal preservation following nerve lesion in semithin sections showing percentage of intact myelinated sciatic nerve axons (percentage of contralateral unlesioned nerve) at 3, 5, and 14 d following axotomy (see supplemental Fig. 2, available at www.jneurosci.org as supplemental material).