Underfed Developing Purkinje Cell

Abstract

New-born mice were subjected to a regime of under-nutrition during lactation by doubling the size of the scope by lactating mother. The undernourished mice and controls were sacrificed at 2 and 3 weeks after birth. The brain was fixed in glutaraldehyde. Small blocks of paravermale region were fixed in osmium tetroxide, dehydrated and embedded in Epone. Thin sections of 0.04 microns were cut and stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and viewed with an electron microscope to detect ultrastructural changes in Purkinje cells undernourished. Purkinje cells of mice controls were well differentiated at 2 and 3 weeks after birth, they had a euchromatic central core surrounded by rich Nissl substance cytoplasm and mitochondria. Purkinje cells were delayed in their differentiation as evidenced by the irregular and rough segmentation of the endoplasmic reticulum and free ribosomes group. These changes with the small number of mitochondria show reduced protein synthesis machinery. Granule cells showed immature glomeruli with less synaptic contacts and few mitochondria compared to control. These changes confirm the delay in differentiation and maturation of Purkinje neurons as a result of postnatal undernutrition. (Age & Nutrition, Volume 6, No. 2, 1995)