The above image shows a newborn Rat retinal neuron that has been growing in cuture (in vitro) for 7 days. Viewed under phase optics the cell body (soma) is the bright round object in centre of the field. Note the long processes with growth cones at their tips.
The above image shows a newborn Rat cortical neuron that has been growing in cuture (in vitro) for 7 days.
The neuron shows an extremely long axon with a highly motile tip (growth cone, bottom righthand side), at the other end of the neuron's cell body (soma, centre of image) are a number of shorter dendrites.
The neuron has been labelled with antibodies that detect different components of the cell cytoskeleton.
The green labels Tau (mictrotubules) and the Red labels actin (microfilaments). Showing that actin is concentrated in the growth cone of the extending axon and can also bee seen in the growth cones of the dendrites.
Dr Mark Hill
Cell Biology Laboratory
School of Medical Sciences
The University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
AUSTRALIA
phone: +612 9385 2477
email: m.hill@unsw.edu.au
Web: http://cellbiology.med.unsw.edu.au/
For more information see About the Author
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