Figure 2.
Cerebral cortical defects and up-regulation of mTORC1 in cortical neurons and astrocytes in Tsc2flox/ko;hGFAP-Cre mice. All sections were taken from P21 mice. (A and B) The cortex of the mutant (B) was thicker than the control (A) and displayed lamination defects, blurring between the gray–white junction, and a much less-defined molecular layer (Layer I). (C and D) Higher magnification revealed enlarged cells in the cortex of the mutant (D) and more extracellular matrix between the cells compared with the control (C). (E) Comparison of the areas of NeuN-labeled neurons from mutant and control cortex revealed that mutant neurons are significantly larger (**P < 0.005, n = 6) than control neurons. (F and G) NeuN-labeled neurons in the mutant cortex (G) displayed substantial increase in pS6 expression compared with the control (F), indicating elevated mTORC1 activation. (H and I) S100-labeled astrocytes in the mutant cortex (I) also showed notable increase in pS6 expression compared with the control (H). Scale bars, A and B, 100 µm; C and D, 20 µm; F and G, 50 µm; H and I, 40 µm, inset 10 µm.