Figure 8. Loss of PCs occurs in Ift88^c.mut mice by 6 months of age.

(A) Cerebellar folia from Control and Ift88^c.mut at 6 months of age, 5 months after loss of Ift88, stained for Calbindin (red) and DAPI (blue). 6-month-old Ift88^c.mut mice begin to show PC gaps throughout cerebellar folia indicating loss of PC. Scale bar = 50 μm. (B) Quantification of number of PC soma per 500 μm stretch of folia on the primary fissure between Control and Ift88^c.mut at 4 months and 6 months of age. 6-month-old Ift88^c.mut show a reduced number of PC soma throughout the cerebellum (each point represents one measurement, 12 measurements were made per condition. n = 3 animals per condition. p<0.0001 by one-way ANOVA between all conditions, error bars indicate SEM). (C, D) 6-month-old cerebellar tissue from Control and Ift88^c.mut mice immunostained for Calbindin to label PC (red) and VGLUT2 to show climbing fiber synapses (green) and DAPI (blue). Ift88^c.mut animals show a reduction in VGLUT2 positive synapses throughout the cerebellum. Scale bar = 50 μm. (E) Quantification of molecular layer thickness between 6-month-old Control and Ift88^c.mut animals. Ift88^c.mut have shorter folia compared to littermate Controls (each point represents one measurement, >75 measurements taken per genotype. n = 3 animals. p<0.0001 by unpaired student’s t-test, error bars indicate SEM). (F) Quantification of loss of VGLUT2 synapses along PC dendrites in 6-month-old Ift88^c.mut animals. Ift88^c.mutshow a loss similar to the loss seen in 4-month-old Ift88^c.mut animals (each point represents a field analyzed, with 5 images analyzed per animal, n = 3 animals. p<0.0001 by unpaired student’s t-test, error bars indicate SEM).