Extended Data Fig. 8: Tibial nerve sensory neurons and hind paw skin touch end-organs in Ush2a^-/- mice show no anatomical defects.

a, electron micrographs of the tibial nerve from an Ush2a^+/+ mouse. Myelinated fibers have thick grey circumference; Remak bundles of C-fibers lack myelination. a’, Representative electron micrograph of the tibial nerve from an Ush2a^-/- mouse. Scale bars = 2µm. b, Mean numbers of A and C-fibers in the tibial nerves of Ush2a^+/+ (n = 3) and Ush2a^-/- mice (n = 3) did not appear to differ. Data quantified from EM images. c, Myelin thickness of tibial axons did not differ between Ush2a^+/+ (n = 3) and Ush2a^-/- mice (n = 3). d, Example S100 (green) and NF200 (red) labelling of Meissner corpuscles in the glabrous hind paw skin of an Ush2a^+/+ mouse and e, an Ush2a^-/- mouse showed no morphological deficits. Scale bars = 50µm. f, Mean number of fibers innervating each Meissner corpuscle did not differ between Ush2a^+/+ (n = 5 mice) and Ush2a^-/- mice (n = 5 mice: P < 0.05; two-way ANOVA, F(1,16)=0.0, P=0.99), whisker indicates max and min values, box indicates 1^st 2^nd (median) and 3^rd quartiles. g, Immunolabelling S100 (green) and NF200 (red) labels hair follicles in the skin of an Ush2a^+/+ mouse. Scale bar = 25µm. h, S100 (green) and NF200 (red) labelling hair follicles in the skin of an Ush2a^-/- mouse showed no obvious deficits. Scale bar = 25µm. i, Hair bulb thickness of awl/zigzag hairs and Guard hairs did not differ between Ush2a^+/+ (n = 5) and Ush2a^-/- mice (n = 5), unpaired two-tailed t-tests, P=0.64 and P=0.77. Similarly, j, number of terminal Schwann cells per hair follicle (Ush2a^+/+ n = 5, Ush2a^-/- mice n = 5. P=0.30 and P=0.93.) k, mean terminal Schwann cell soma size (Ush2a^+/+ n = 5, Ush2a^-/- mice n = 5. P=0.57 and P=0.28) l, and branch lengths did not differ between Ush2a^+/+ (n = 5) and Ush2a^-/- mice (n = 5), unpaired two-tailed t-tests, P=0.65 and P=0.39). Data = mean ± s.e.m.