So when I last spoke about
my work endeavors, I was trying to produce some images of amyloid deposition in mouse brain tissue, using a variety of biochemical techniques. Again, the significance of all this is to attempt to understand what may lead to a variety of diseases (including Alzheimer's Disease) caused by
Amyloidosis. Pictured to the left is a perfect example of a 2 yr. old mouse brain tissue section that has tested positive for amyloid deposits, and below, a brain
tissue section of a healthy mouse. The technique used here is called... immunostaining. All the brown spots in the tissue identify where the unwanted amyloid protein has accumulated. It's amazing this mouse could remember how to eat & breath. This is the most amyloid I've ever seen in any published journal images. In this case, an antibody specific to amyloid protein was generated in a host rabbit (to limit
cross-reactivity with the mouse tissue producing a false positive result), and tagged with a chemical marker that creates a brown color when exposed to the appropriate solution. Worked like a charm... after months of trying several different staining methods, a few different amyloid binding antibodies, & hours of troubleshooting. With this proven protocol, we can now attempt to analyze the many mice that
are involved in our various ongoing studies. The work is painstakingly slow. The process to acheive images like this, involves many steps that span days, even weeks. A typical study may require 12-30 animals... which = a lot of tissue to process, and can be hard to keep track of. Pictured to the right & below is my little nook in the
Wentworth Lab downstairs, where I make notes, process, analyze and image all the tissue used in our research. Most of the staining is carried out in the Lerner Lab upstairs, where I spend most of my time...
the view upstairs is nicer too.
So when I last spoke about my work endeavors, I was trying to produce some images of amyloid deposition in mouse brain tissue, using a variety of biochemical techniques. Again, the significance of all this is to attempt to understand what may lead to a variety of diseases (including Alzheimer's Disease) caused by Amyloidosis. Pictured to the left is a perfect example of a 2 yr. old mouse brain tissue section that has tested positive for amyloid deposits, and below, a brain
tissue section of a healthy mouse. The technique used here is called... immunostaining. All the brown spots in the tissue identify where the unwanted amyloid protein has accumulated. It's amazing this mouse could remember how to eat & breath. This is the most amyloid I've ever seen in any published journal images. In this case, an antibody specific to amyloid protein was generated in a host rabbit (to limit cross-reactivity with the mouse tissue producing a false positive result), and tagged with a chemical marker that creates a brown color when exposed to the appropriate solution. Worked like a charm... after months of trying several different staining methods, a few different amyloid binding antibodies, & hours of troubleshooting. With this proven protocol, we can now attempt to analyze the many mice that
are involved in our various ongoing studies. The work is painstakingly slow. The process to acheive images like this, involves many steps that span days, even weeks. A typical study may require 12-30 animals... which = a lot of tissue to process, and can be hard to keep track of. Pictured to the right & below is my little nook in the Wentworth Lab downstairs, where I make notes, process, analyze and image all the tissue used in our research. Most of the staining is carried out in the Lerner Lab upstairs, where I spend most of my time... the view upstairs is nicer too.
1 comment:
well done larry. i know from working in that very lab just how long all that shit takes, but it is rewarding to finally get results.
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