Fig. 1

Schematic cross section of the sciatic nerve. RelmαMgl1 is an exclusive “fingerprint” of resident macrophages in the sciatic nerve in normal physiological state. Using confocal microscopy, Relmα⁻Mgl1⁻ Lyve1⁻Cx3cr1⁺ macrophages are located inside the endoneurium and are more abundant than Relmα⁺Mgl1⁺Lyve1⁺Cx3cr1⁻ macrophages found in the epineurium connective tissue. The epineurial Relmα⁺Mgl1⁺ sciatic nerve macrophages were often found to be associated with blood vessels, a characteristic not observed in endoneurial Relmα⁻Mgl1⁻ macrophages [34]. The scale is arbitrary for visual clarity reasons