Extended Data Figure 4: Characterization of tissue-specific Cre activities via Ai9 reporters.

a, b, tdTomato epifluorescence in P0 Tie2Cre;Ai9 lung with PECAM1 staining (a) or CGRP staining (b). c, tdTomato epifluorescence in P0 Tie2Cre;Ai9 jugular–nodose complex with PECAM1 staining. Dotted line demarcates the boundary of the jugular–nodose complex. d, tdTomato epifluorescence in adult Tie2Cre;Ai9 thoracic DRG. Dotted line demarcates the boundary of the DRG. e, tdTomato epifluorescence in P0 Tie2Cre;Ai9 trigeminal ganglion with Advillin staining. TdTomato signal co-localizes with PECAM1⁺ endothelial cells in a and c. f–i, tdTomato epifluorescence in P0 Phox2bCre;Ai9 lung with CGRP staining (f), P0 jugular–nodose complex with Advillin staining (g), adult thoracic DRG (h), and P0 trigeminal ganglion with Advillin staining (i). TdTomato signal is present in nodose ganglia (g), but absent in lung cells and NEBs (f), jugular ganglia (g), DRG (h), and trigeminal ganglia (i). Arrows in f indicate tdTomato⁺ vagal nerve fibre innervating the lung epithelium. Dotted line in h demarcates the boundary of DRG. j–m, tdTomato epifluorescence in P0 Wnt1Cre;Ai9 lung with CGRP staining (j), P0 jugular–nodose complex (k), adult thoracic DRG (l), and adult jugular–nodose complex with Piezo2 staining (m). m′, m′′, Higher magnification images of m. Arrows show tdTomato expression in both jugular neuronal cell bodies and satellite cells. Arrowheads show tdTomato expression only in satellite cells. TdTomato signal is present in neuronal cell bodies of jugular ganglia (k, m) and DRG (l), and satellite cells in the jugular–nodose complex and DRG (k–m), but absent in lung cells and NEBs (j) and neuronal cell bodies of nodose ganglia (k, m). TdTomato⁺ nerve fibres innervate the lung (j). Dotted lines indicate boundaries of the ganglia. VII + VIII, facial-acoustic complex. Scale bars, 50 μm (b), 12.5 μm (m′, m′′), 100 μm (all other panels).