Fig. 5. Morphological changes to the cerebellum of astrotactin null mice. Nissl stained sections of normal (A) and mutant P15 mice (B) reveal that the dispersion of the EGL is delayed in astrotactin null mice. Note also the presence of pyknotic nuclei in B (arrowhead). (C) Nissl stained parasagittal section from a P15 astrotactin null mouse showing an ectopic clump of granule cells in the molecular layer (arrow). (D) Nissl stained parasagittal section from a P15 astrotactin null mouse showing Purkinje cells with abnormal morphology (arrowhead) adjacent to Purkinje cells that appear normal. Note how the abnormal cells are oriented out of the plane of the section. (E-H) Confocal images of double immunohistochemistry showing glia (GFAP staining in green) and Purkinje cells (calbindin staining in red) on parasagittal sections. (E) Wild-type adult, showing normal Purkinje cell morphology. In F,G, the dendrites of Purkinje cells from astrotactin null mice are seen to spread across into territories normally occupied by neighboring cells. Note that the columnar organization (revealed by the GFAP staining) of the cerebellum is otherwise normal. (H) Ectopic Purkinje cells in a section cut from a P19 astrotactin null mouse. Scale bars: 30 µm (A,B,D,E-H); 60 µm (C).
