FINAL PROJECT: Abstract and Reader's Reponse > Characterization of Calbindin Expressing CA1 Pyramidal Cells In Lissencephaly
S, can you add some images (sourced and captioned?) OR might you note that, eventually, you will produce a companion slide set? Touch base with me about this.
Also, did you see my note about annotations? This could help address SK's expectations that your work might be a model for other ILS writers. Touch base with me.
Good description of complex area. Also, ask me about the trees that give us the tamo- drugs.
May 12, 2019 |
MbS
MbS
In the hippocampus, pyramidal cells are typically born in a deep to superficial manner forming a single band called the pyramidal cell layer (PCL). Interestingly, erratic banding often occurs in mice heterozygous for the Lis1 gene, a model for the human neurodevelopmental disorder, Lissencephaly. In our research, we are interested in observing the development of neuronal circuitry under conditions of cellular mis-positioning. More specifically, we chose to focus on PCs that are calbindin positive as we hypothesize that calbindin expressing pyramidal cells display a distinctly complex morphology of their apical dendritic processes that may be of specific importance in neurogenesis. To determine this, we first performed a number of reconstructions and analyzed their node branching patterns. Next, we administered tamoxifen to pregnant mice on embryonic days 12, 14 or 16 to induce GFP expression in cells born during these specific time points in NgnCre+ offspring. The brains were then extracted, sliced and stained for calbindin using immunohistochemistry procedure. The slices were imaged using a Zeiss LSM 700 confocal microscope to observe for colocalization that would provide information on when and where these calbindin positive cells are being born. This data is the first to evidence that deeply positioned calbindin positive pyramidal cells in lissencephaly mutants are not a novel population adopting calbindin expression but the rather the same, albeit late embryonically generated pool, mislaminated. This sets the stage for follow up to ask if these calbindin positive cells in Lis1 mutants display normal intrinsic electrophysiological properties and synaptic network connectivity.
Word count = 250
Reader’s profile
Likely an ILS staff member of student with some background of the research process and scientific terminology.
Reader’s response
Very specific research topic that is a little hard to follow but has interesting implications...requires a little effort on my part to understand the experiment design and specific scientific terminology (such as GFP). However, none of this is wildly out of my understanding. Would be easier to understand with visual images of colocalization and node analysis.