Chemical Separation of Fixed Tissue Using Thermolysin
Figure 1
Photographs illustrating the significant orthogonal projection of a section of crista ampullaris and the benefits of enzymatically flattening the sensory epithelium. (a) A transverse section from a crista ampullaris showing the significant three-dimensional projection of the sensory epithelium. The central zone (CZ) is oriented such that it is nearly at right angles to the peripheral zone (PZ). When viewed from above, it is difficult to create a reconstruction due to one of these parts continuously being out of the focus. Thermolysin solves this problem by enzymatically cleaving the tissue at the junction of the sensory epithelium and stroma, indicated by the white arrow heads. The inset shows the relative location of the transverse section from a standard reconstruction of a crista. Scale bar = 50 μm. (b) A flattened crista ampullaris from a chinchilla stained with calretinin antibody. Scale bar = 100 μm.
