Figure 1

Nidogen isoforms are differentially expressed in mouse muscle. (A, B) Western blotting of recombinant nidogen-1 (N1) and -2 (N2) demonstrates specificity of nidogen-1 and nidogen-2 antibodies. (C, D) Young adult (postnatal day 56) mouse muscle cross-sectioned and immunostained with anti-nidogen-1 (C) or anti-nidogen-2 (D) antibodies. Nidogen-1 is present in the basal lamina surrounding muscle fibers. Nidogen-2 is largely absent from muscle fiber basal lamina, but is present in discrete basal laminas within muscle. (E, E') Double labeling of muscle with α-bungarotoxin (E) and anti-nidogen-2 (E') reveals that nidogen-2 is present at acetylcholine receptor-rich synaptic sites (arrows). Scale bar is 25 μm.