What does Nissl stain stain?
What does Nissl stain stain?
Nissl stain (e.g., cresyl violet, thionin, azure) stains nuclei acids (DNA and RNA). This stain is useful for viewing cell sizes and numbers.
What is Nissl staining and for what does it stain?
This stain is commonly used to identify the neuronal structure in brain and spinal cord tissue. The Cresyl Violet method uses basic aniline dye to stain RNA blue, and is used to highlight important structural features of neurons.
What other types of research about the brain might a Nissl stain be useful for?
Nissl staining is also often used to counterstain sections after immunocytochemical detection of specific molecules in the brain to facilitate the localization and mapping of the labeled cell populations.
What part of the neuron does the Nissl stain dye?
The Nissl stain is most intense in nucleoli and in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of neurons. For myelinated axons in the nervous system, a variety of techniques selectively label the unique physical properties of the densely wound membranes.
How long does Nissl staining take?
Approximately 5 to 10 minutes
Staining procedure Approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Care should be taken not to overdifferentiate since decolorization will proceed in the following step.
Why do neuronal bodies stain blue?
Because ammonium sulfide is a reducing agent, the stain is initially decolorized and the cell bodies appear blue only during fixation and dehydration. This makes differentiation somewhat difficult to control, and after dehydration it may be necessary to return to fixative for further differentiation.
Why is a nissl stain useful?
Nissl staining is convenient for measuring the density of neurons because stained cells are clearly defined and easily measured.
What are the different staining techniques?
Types of staining techniques. Simple staining.
Is Toluidine Blue a Nissl stain?
Toluidine blue-O is a Nissl bright-field counterstain for lipophilic fluorescent tracers Di-ASP, DiI and DiO. J Neurosci Methods.
How is Nissl staining used in brain research?
Nissl staining showed unequivocal evidence of a thinner cortex in the ERβKO brains of both male and female mice. Sections are prepared as described above, with Nissl staining of cell bodies. Each area to be analyzed is digitized twice, once in bright-field for the Nissl staining and a second time in dark-field for the ISHH labeling.
Why does Nissl stain the cell body blue?
This staining method is useful to localize the cell body, as it can be seen in the soma and dendrites of neurons, though not in the axon or axon hillock. Due to RNA’s basophilic (“base-loving”) properties it is stained blue by this method.
How are Nissl bodies used in RNA staining?
Nissl bodies can be demonstrated by a method of selective staining developed by Nissl (Nissl staining), using an aniline stain to label extranuclear RNA granules.
Where does acetylcholinesterase staining occur in the hippocampus?
Staining is of intermediate intensity in the CA1 region. The subiculum (S) is more lightly stained than the CA fields. Staining in the parahippocampal gyrus is generally less dense than in the hippocampal formation.