Science Visualized

Credit: Oshadi Wimalarathne, Collene Jeter

Neuron Nuance

Each layer of the cerebellum can be seen in an autopsy tissue slice obtained from the NIH Neurobiobank for a study of patients with a rare disease called ataxia telangiectasia, or Louis-Bar Syndrome. The condition – a neurodegenerative disorder that shows up in the part of the brain responsible for movement and coordination – starts in early childhood. The green cell on the following pages is called a Purkinje neuron. This cell integrates thousands of impulses from neighboring granule cells to control human movement and coordination. In a study from the lab of molecular biosciences professor Tanya Paull, a team investigated the role of a family of protein modifications, shown in red, that are involved with functions like DNA repair. The team detected higher levels in patients with Louis-Bar Syndrome.

The image was taken by Oshadi Wimalarathne with assistance from Dr. Collene Jeter at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, with tissue prepared by Nicolette Ender. Preparation of the sample was done on the UT Austin main campus, with imaging at MD Anderson, Smithville, in the Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core Facility.

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