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Fig. 9. Immunofluorescent localization of β-catenin (β-cat) in larval and adult Xenopus epithelia. (A–D) Confocal images showing restricted localization of β-cat (green) in apical epithelial cells of the larval cornea. (A′-D′) Merged images for A-D with Hoechst labeled nuclei (magenta). (A-A′) β-catenin is associated with the membranes of epithelial cells found in the apical layer of the central cornea. (B-B′) No label is detected in the basal epithelial cells of the central cornea. (C-C′) Apical epithelial cells in the peripheral cornea have membrane-bound expression of β-catenin. (D-D′) Basal epithelial cells show no immunoreactivity with the β-catenin antibody. (E–H) Fluorescence light microscopic images display β-catenin (green) localization in cross-sections of adult frog epithelial tissues, as labeled. The apical surface is located towards the top of each image, and the basal surface towards the bottom. (H′-K′) Merged images for H-K with Hoechst labeled nuclei (magenta). (E-E′) β-catenin is widely expressed throughout the full thickness of the central cornea. Staining is also found in the corneal endothelium (en) and is denoted by white arrowheads in E and E’. (F-F′) Epithelial cells in the limbal region also show positive reactivity to the β-catenin antibody. (G-G′) Epithelial cells lining the inner and outer portion of ventral eyelid uniformly express β-catenin. (H-H′) Skin epithelial cells in all layers have membranous β-catenin expression, similar to that found in the cornea. en, corneal endothelium; ive, inner ventral eyelid; ove, outer ventral eyelid. Scale bar in H′ equals 25 μm for A-D, A′-D′, and 50 μm for E-H, E′-H’. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.) |
