Then, 6–8 μm sections were stained with a panel of antibodies directed against DIO1 (NPB1-19706, Novus Biologicals, via R&D Systems), DIO2 (ab135711, abcam, Cambridge, UK), DIO3 (NBP 1-05767, Novus Biologicals, via R&D Systems), MCT8 (thyroid hormone transporter, ab104689, abcam), TRα (ab42565, abcam), TRβ (ab5622, abcam), and trace amine associated receptor 1 (TA1, ab65633, abcam). Primary staining was visualized using respective secondary antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (Dako, Glostrup, Denmark) and making use of the DAB substrate (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, USA). In immunohistochemistry experiments, we controlled staining by using unspecific serum or unspecific IgG antibodies instead of primary antibodies and this constantly yielded negative result (see Figures).
The density of positive cells for DIO1, DIO2, and DIO3 was averaged from 17 randomly selected high-power fields at the magnification of 400x and expressed as cell number per square millimeter.