Figure 6

Increased numbers of CGRP-positive neurons under allergic condition. The JNC sections of HDM treated animals and control animals were stained with antibodies against neuropeptides CGRP and PGP 9.5. The amount of CGRP positive neurons increased significantly during allergic airway inflammation (A) in comparison to that of the controls (B). Scale bars: 50 μm. Images were acquired with Axioskop 2 plus (Zeiss) using a 40x objective. C: The quantification of CGRP ir-neurons in JNC of control and HDM-treated mice. The results were expressed as percentage of CGRP-IR-neurons in relation to all PGP 9.5 positive neurons, HDM 31.16 ± 5.41% (n = 9) vs. control 7.16 ± 1.53% (n = 10), p < 0.001. D: MHC II-positive cells distribute overall on the JNC slices without any preferentially location to CGRP-positive neurons. Image was acquired with confocal microscope LSM 510 META (Carl Zeiss, Jena, Germany), scale bar: 50 μm.