Majority of the Merkel cells in the neonatal glabrous skin are innervated by TrkC⁺ but not Ret⁺ fibers.

<p>A-B, Two examples of Merkel cell innervation in the glabrous skin of P0 <i>TrkC^GFP</i> mice. These glabrous skin sections were triple stained with antibodies against CK8, GFP and NFH. Almost all GFP⁺ Merkel cell innervating fibers overlap with NFH⁺ fibers, which are indicated by yellow arrows. C-D, Two examples of Merkel cell innervations in the glabrous skin of P0 <i>Ret^CFP/+</i> mice. Most of the Merkel cells are innervated by NFH⁺ rather than CFP⁺ fibers. E-F, Quantification of Merkel innervation in the glabrous skin by NFH⁺/TrkC⁺ or Ret⁺ fibers in <i>TrkC^GFP</i> mice (G) and <i>Ret^CFP/+</i> mice (H). Scale bar, 20 μm, n = 3 for both genotypes. See also <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0092027#pone-0092027-t004" target="_blank">Table 4</a>.