Quantitative spatial connectomics of liver reveals a partially exposed sympathetic network that integrates multiple cell types across the portal tract

In mouse liver, quantitative 3D EM connectomics reveals a meshwork of mainly sympathetic axons with partial Schwann cell coverage, leaving large network regions devoid of glial coverage.

• Why it matters: Peripheral innervation is known to regulate homeostasis and disease, but its three-dimensional wiring and specific cellular targets in intact tissues are poorly defined.
• What they did: The study built an EM workflow for quantitative spatial connectomics, tracing sympathetic axons and mapping Schwann coverage, exposed en passant varicosities, and synaptic-like contacts across the portal tract.
• The result: Axonal terminals and exposed varicosities both innervate vasculature, but most synaptic-like contacts involve hepatocytes, fibroblasts, macrophages, and the stem-cell niche, with each axon contacting different cell types along its length.

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