Figure 3

Pathologic consequences of impaired apoptotic cell clearance are specific to the post-partum mammary gland. A. Increased presence of apoptotic cells in MerTK-deficient mice was shown by TUNEL analysis of mammary glands from 12-week old virgin female mice. Values represent the average percentage of the total epithelial population that was TUNEL-positive, ± S.D. N = 3 (5 fields per sample). P = 0.01, Student's T-test. B. Whole mounted, hematoxylin-stained mammary glands harvested from eight week old mice. C. mammary glands from 12-wekk old virgin female mice were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for PCNA. Values shown represent the average percentage of total epithelial nuclei that were PCNA-positive, ± S.D. P = 0.39, Student's T-test. D. H&E-stained sections from WT and mertk^-/- mammary glands harvested from virgin mice at 12 weeks of age.