Figure 5
Micrographs showing staining for CGRP-IR fibers in skin biopsies taken from the medial (saphenous), center (tibial) and lateral (sural) part of the foot sole (Figure 5 A). Note that two weeks after SNI a complete loss of CGRP-IR fibers is observed in the central part while preserving CGRP-IR fibers on the medial and lateral side. Five weeks PO, the SNI group shows an increase of CGRP-IR fibers in the medial and lateral part when compared to the sham group. Also, at this time a re-innervation of the center area is noted. Ten weeks PO, the SNI group shows CGRP-IR fibers in all three parts of the foot sole, suggesting complete re-innervation of CGRP-IR fibers in the foot sole. Upper scale bar: 25 μm, and lower scale bar: 250 μm. Diagrams showing CGRP-IR fiber endings (mm2) in the medial, center and lateral area of the hind paw glabrous skin. In the medial area there is a significantly higher density of epidermal CGRP-IR endings at 5 and 10 weeks PO (Figure 5B-D). The center area shows a decreased number of CGRP-IR fibers at 2 weeks, which normalizes at sham levels at week 10. Lateral area shows an initial decrease of CGRP-IR fibers at 2 weeks that becomes significantly higher at 10 weeks PO. (n = 6) One-way ANOVA with post Turkey test *: P < 0.05, **:P < 0.01, ***:P < 0.001.