Fig. 1: Origin and distribution of sympathetic nerves in the wild-type pancreas.

a–c Representative images of retrogradely labeled CTB⁺ neurons projecting to the pancreas in tissues sections of the coeliac-superior mesenteric ganglion complex (CSMG) (a), nodose ganglia (b), and DRG (c) co-labeled with anti-TH antibody. In the coeliac-superior mesenteric ganglion complex, 100% of the CTB⁺ neurons were TH⁺ (n = 3 mice, 21 sections, 86 CTB⁺ neurons). None of the CTB⁺ sensory neurons in nodose ganglia or DRG were TH⁺ (n = 3 mice, 4 DRGs, 29 sections, 109 CTB⁺ neurons; and 3 nodose ganglia, 25 sections, 220 CTB⁺ neurons). d–f Maximal intensity projection of 3D image stacks of an 8-week-old control murine pancreas labeled with anti-TH and anti-SMA. The coeliac-superior mesenteric ganglion complex consists of distinct ganglionic subunits (r.c.g, right celiac ganglion; l.c.g, left celiac ganglion; s.m.g., superior mesenteric ganglion) whose TH⁺ efferents reach the pancreas through the celiac plexus (c.p.) surrounding the coeliac artery (c.a.) (d). After entering the pancreas, TH⁺ sympathetic nerves travel with the main pancreatic arteries (d.p.a., dorsal pancreatic artery; a.p.s.p.a., antero and posterior superior pancreatoduodenal artery, s.a., splenic artery) (e, f). The spleen that was kept attached during dissection is outlined with a dotted line. One representative image from 3 mice is shown. g–i Images of TH⁺ nerve sections on optical slices made at different levels from the head to the tail of an 8-week-old control pancreas. j Quantification of the percentage of TH⁺ area on equidistant optical sections through the pancreas, from the nerve entrance in the head (level 1) to the tail (level 10). Data are presented as mean ± SEM. n = 4 mice. level 1 versus level 8, P = 0.0313; level 1 versus level 9, P = 0.0087; level 1 versus level 10, P = 0.0032 (Kruskal–Wallis test and Dunn’s post hoc tests). Scale bars = 30 μm (a–c), 500 μm (d), 1 mm 200 μm (e), (f), and 1 mm (g–i). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.