Figure 9.

PDGFRA⁺ suburothelial fibroblasts express ACTA2, CAR3, and TNC. A: ACTA2 was expressed by smooth muscle cells (SMC) in the muscularis externa and blood vessels (BV) within the lamina propria. A weaker, but reproducible, ACTA2 signal was also observed in suburothelial fibroblasts, subjacent to the urothelium (Ut). The dashed boxed region in the top right image is magnified in the bottom images. Nuclei of PDGFRA⁺;ACTA2⁺ cells are indicated by yellow arrows. B: expression of TNC and CAR3 by PDGFRA⁺ suburothelial fibroblasts. The dashed boxed region in the right image is reproduced in the left images. Cells with visible nuclei expressing all three markers are indicated by white arrows. Note that PDGFRA is a membrane protein, CAR3 is a cytoplasmic protein, and TNC is a secreted protein that is deposited in the space between adjacent fibroblasts. All images are confocal micrographs and representative of images taken from three-five separate experiments each with one-two mice.