Figure 1. Expression and cellular distributions of WNT3a protein in rat DRG and SC after CCI.
(A and B) Western blot showing the time course for WNT3a expression in DRG (A) and SC (B) (n = 4 in each). Representative bands are shown on the top; data summary is shown on the bottom. One-way ANOVA, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 versus naive and sham. (C) Immunofluorescence showing expression and distribution of WNT3a in DRG neurons. WNT3a was expressed in the large-sized neurons (white arrows) and the small and medium-sized neurons (white arrowheads) ipsilateral to the CCI (top row). Colocalization of WNT3a with CGRP- and IB4-positive neurons, respectively (middle and bottom rows). (D) Distribution and cellular colocalization of WNT3a in the DH. WNT3a was distributed predominantly in the superficial layers (I–III) (top row). WNT3a was colocalized with neuronal somata (NeuN, red), dendrites (MAP2, red), and astrocytes (GFAP, red), but not with microglial cells (IBA1, red) (middle and bottom rows). (E) Colocalization of WNT3a with CGRP-positive (red) and IB4-positive (red) terminals in the superficial DH. Tissues in (C–E) were collected on day 7 after CCI. Original magnification, ×100 (D, top); ×200 (C, top, and center and bottom rows in D and E); and ×400 (center and bottom rows in C, and inserts in D and E).