Fig. 2

Morphological changes precede cell death in Purkinje cells at P21. a Upper panels are low-magnification images of the cerebellar cortex in three mouse groups at P21. Sections were immunostained with anti-calbindin antibody. The number of Purkinje cells in 600 μm of the primary fissure side of lobule IV–V was counted in one slide, and the values from 20 slides from four mice (five per mouse) were used for statistical analysis. To determine the thickness of the molecular layer, the thickness was measured at six regions on the primary fissure side of lobule IV–V per slide, and the values from 120 regions from 20 slides from four mice were used for statistical analyses. The diameter of Purkinje cells was measured for all Purkinje cells on the primary fissure side of lobule IV–V, and the values from 20 slides from four mice were directly used for analysis. Lower graphs show quantitative analyses of the thickness of the molecular layer, the number of Purkinje cells, and the diameter of Purkinje cells. Double and single asterisks indicate statistical significance (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively) in one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey’s HSD test. Four mice were used for analyses; 20 slides were made from each mouse; and 50 Purkinje cells were measured in total. b Analysis as described for a, at 32 weeks of age