Plant and Animal Cells

Astrocytes - Non-Neuronal Brain Cells

What causes brain cells to die as a result of injury or disease? NRC researchers are using specialized imaging techniques to study the biological processes involved in brain cell death. Here, astrocytes – non-neuronal brain cells and the most abundant brain cell type – have been treated in-vitro with a chemical that mimics the in-vivo effect of a stroke. After six days the impact on the astrocytes was assessed using a technique called fluorescence immuno-reactivity. This microscope image clearly shows that the astrocytes are producing damage-related proteins, the green and red areas.