Postnatal cerebellar granule cells of the white rat (Rattus norvegicus): a quantitative study, using design-based stereology

A stereological study was carried out on postnatal cerebellar granule cells of rats aged 6 and 10 days, for detecting whether and how much they would differ from those of young adult rats. The following parameters were estimated: number-weighted mean volume of the nucleus and of the soma; mean total surface area of the soma; mean absolute volumes per cell of total cytoplasm, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, and cytosol; mean surface density of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER); mean total surface area of the RER. These values were compared between the two postnatal ages. In addition, those values were also analysed in comparison to the ones depicted in young adult rats (60 days), already published by our team, in order to detect similarities between them. It was noticed that, between 6 and 10 days, the mean surface density of the RER was the only parameter that did not change significantly. The comparison of each of the postnatal ages with 60 days revealed that, with the exception of the absolute volume of Golgi apparatus, significant differences were displayed concerning other organelles and cellular compartments. It was concluded that, although fine structural differences have been disclosed, from the stereological point of view postnatal granule cells at 10 days were practically similar to the young adult ones at 60 days. Some potential physiological implications have been considered.