Fig. 1. Expression of cadherins and catenins in the human thymus. The micrographs show immunofluorescence staining of human thymus cryostat sections stained with monoclonal antibodies against E- and P-cadherin and ß- and -catenin. (A) Labelling with anti-E-cadherin antibodies revealed strong staining signals in the medulla (m) and weaker signals in the cortex (c) of the thymic lobules. (B) P-cadherin expression seemed to be restricted to epithelial cells of the cortical area, since medullary epithelial cells did not show any significant staining signals. (C) ß-catenin expression was evenly distributed over the medullary and cortical areas, whereas -catenin expression was found predominantly in the medulla (D). Bar, 100 µm.

Return to article