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Fig. 1 | Neural Development

Fig. 1

From: Pax6 is required intrinsically by thalamic progenitors for the normal molecular patterning of thalamic neurons but not the growth and guidance of their axons

Fig. 1

TCA pathfinding defects in Pax6 −/− mice. a, b Normal expression of Pax6 shown with immunohistochemistry at E12.5 and E15.5; Th, thalamus; PTh, prethalamus; Hy, hypothalamus; vTel, ventral telencephalon. Arrow indicates residual Pax6 staining in the ventricular zone at E15.5. c, e DiI placement in the thalamus of WT mice reveals TCAs extending through the ventral telencephalon at E14.5 and entering the cortex in greater numbers by E16.5. d, f DiI placement in the thalamus of Pax6 −/− mice shows no axons leaving the thalamus at E14.5; at E16.5 a small number of thalamic axons can be seen heading towards the hypothalamus, while no axons are observed in the ventral telencephalon (f). g, h Boxed areas in e,f at higher magnification. i, j DiI placement in the thalamus of Pax6 −/− mice shows the failure of axons to leave the diencephalon at E18.5; boxed area in I is shown in j. k, m DiI placement close to the amygdaloid region in Pax6 +/+ mice does not label any major axon tract whereas (l, n) in Pax6 −/− mice it labels a large axon tract within the ventral telencephalon and a large number of cell bodies close to the PSPB (n). Inset in l shows the lack of DiI labelling within the thalamus, demonstrating that the labelled axons are not of thalamic origin. Boxed areas in k,l are shown at higher magnification in m,n; broken line in M = PSPB. o, q DiI placement close to the PSPB in Pax6 +/+ mice labels the thalamocortical tract (o), cell bodies within the thalamus (q) and axons descending to sub-striatal targets (arrow in o). p, r In Pax6 −/− mice it reveals a large bundle of axons that extend ventrally (p) and are tipped with growth cones (r). Boxed areas in (o, p) are shown at higher magnification in (q, r). s, t DiI placement close to the amygdaloid region in Pax6 +/+ mice gave similar results at E18.5 to those at E16.5. u, v Schematic diagrams summarising the axon pathfinding defects observed in Pax6 −/− mice (v) compared to Pax6 +/+ mice (u). DiI injections sites with relevant panels are marked. Scale bars: a–f, i, k, l, o, p, s 500 μm, g, h, j, m, n, q, r 100 μm, t 10 μm

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