The structure of primary afferent nerve terminals profoundly influences their function. While
the complex vagal airway nerve terminals (stretch receptors, cough receptors and
neuroepithelial bodies) were thoroughly characterized, much less is known about the
structure of airway nerves that do not form distinct complex terminals (often termed free
nerve fibers). We selectively induced expression of GFP in vagal afferent nerves in the
mouse by transfection with AAV-GFP virus vector and visualized nerve terminals in the …