The secondary antibodies used were fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated anti-rat-(1:100; F1763), or rhodamine-conjugated anti-rabbit-(1:200; T6778) immunoglobulins (both from Sigma, MO, USA).
Nuclei were stained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride (DAPI) (H1200, Vector Laboratories, Youngstown, OH, USA). Cells were observed in an Olympus BX-50 microscope (Olympus Italia S.r.l., Segrate, Italy) equipped with Vario Cam B/W camera (Nikon Instruments S.p.A., Calenzano, Italy).