Fig. 3. Elimination of tPA delayed and partially rescued Purkinje cell death in Lurcher mice. (A) Immunostaining of sagittal cerebella sections of wild-type, tPA–/–, Lc/+, and Lc/+; tPA–/– mice at P12 and P30, using a monoclonal antibody raised against the Purkinje cell marker Calbindin D 28K. Note that the Purkinje cells in Lc/+; tPA–/– mice displayed a more branched dendritic tree when compared with Lc/+ mice. Scale bars: 100 µm (top); 20 µm (bottom). In tPA–/– mice at P12 and P30, the scale bars represent 100 µm and 50 µm, respectively. (B) Quantification of Purkinje cell survival in the cerebellum of wild-type, Lc/+, and Lc/+; tPA–/– mice at P12 and P30. Note the significantly lower number of Purkinje cells in both Lc/+ and Lc/+; tPA–/– mice when compared with the wild-type mice, but that Purkinje cell death was clearly attenuated in Lc/+ mice that lacked tPA. The data are presented as mean±s.e.m. (n=6 mice). *P<0.05 by ANOVA.
