Fig. 3
From: Desmin and dystrophin abnormalities in upper airway muscles of snorers and patients with sleep apnea
Muscle cross-sections (a-d) and longitudinal sections (e-h) stained for desmin and nuclei (DAPI) in the uvula muscle of patients. Normal immunoreaction for desmin is shown in (a) and abnormal immunoreaction patterns are shown in (b-h). Panel b shows a desmin-negative fibre (*) and a fibre with desmin distributed as larger dots or striations (arrow). Panel c displays an irregular or trabecular pattern of desmin (arrowhead) and panel d shows desmin evenly distributed as fine grainy dots (arrowhead). Panel e shows a longitudinally sectioned muscle fibre with a normal striated pattern of desmin in the Z-line (arrow) and subsarcolemmal aggregation of desmin (arrowhead). Panel f displays myofibrillar disorganization (arrow) and desmin aggregates (arrowhead), Panel g shows a desmin-negative fibre with dense subsarcolemmal staining (arrowhead) and panel h shows an area with a striated and punctuated staining pattern for desmin (arrowhead) and an area lacking desmin (*). Scale bar a-h, 25 μm. Bar graphs showing the percentage of fibres with disorganized desmin (i) and the pooled values of desmin-negative and desmin-disorganized fibres (j, desmin-abnormal) in controls and patients (mean and SD). A significant difference (p < 0.05) is marked (*)