Fig. 3

The effect of Rarα deletion on vaginal opening. (A, B) Representative pictures of the normal vaginal opening (white circle) in WT females and the vaginal closure (black circle) in Rarα^−/− females at 6 weeks (A), and the frequency of the closed vagina in Rarα^−/− females (B). The absolute numbers of females are indicated in the columns. (C, D) Representative female reproductive tracts (C) and the length of vagina and uterine horn (D) in Rarα^−/− females with vaginal open, Rarα^−/− females with vaginal closure and WT females at 6 and 24 weeks. Scale bar, 10 mm. (n = 3 independent experiments). Bars indicate the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001 vs. the WT group. (E) PAS-stained cross-sections for vaginas and uterus of Rarα^−/− females with vaginal open, Rarα^−/− females with vaginal closure and WT females. The small black boxes indicate the enlarged areas as shown in the following images. The yellow, black and white brackets indicate the thickness of vaginal epithelium (E), endometrium (EN) and myometrium (MY), respectively. Arrow, endometrial glands (Engl). Scale bar, 200 μm. VL, vaginal lumen; UL, uterine lumen