Prenatal Ethanol Exposure Effects on Calbindin Expression in an FASD Mouse Model - April 2014

Sep 2, 2026

Prenatal ethanol exposure in a mouse model of FASD reduces calbindin immunostaining intensity in the cerebellum, particularly in sections examined at higher magnification. Visual comparison of P0 cerebellar slices shows weaker calbindin staining in ethanol-exposed groups versus tap-water controls. Quantification using grid-based optical density (mean ROD) shows a statistically significant decrease in ethanol-exposed samples. However, automated cell counting indicates no significant difference in Purkinje cell number between groups, based on Mann-Whitney U testing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Calbindin immunostaining intensity in P0 cerebellum

Comparative imaging (tap water vs ethanol)

Quantitative measures (mean ROD)

Purkinje cell counts and statistical testing

Automated cell counting workflow

Mann-Whitney U test results

| | | | --- | --- | | | | | | Figure 1. Decreased calbindin immunostaining in cerebellum of P0 mice exposed to ethanol (A-F). Images of slices of whole mouse cerebella taken at 4X magnification (A-B) are labeled with an inset indicating the lobule section imaged at 40X magnification (C-F) for data collection and analysis. Calbindin immunostained P0 mouse cerebella exposed to tap water and ethanol, respectively at 4X magnification (A-B) . Calbindin immunostained P0 mouse cerebellum exposed to tap water and ethanol, respectively at 40X magnification (C-D) and superimposed with 90 micron2 grid with unstained reference (highlighted in red) and regions of interets (ROIs)(highlighted in green) containing calbindin immunostained Purkinje cells (E-F) . Based on visual observation, sections of P0 mouse cerebella prenatally exposed to ethanol (B, D, and F) appear to exhibit less intense calbindin immunostaining than controls exposed to tap water (A, C, and E) . No differences in Purkinje cell number are | | Treatment Tap Water Ethanol | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Mean ROD | 0.369 | 0.431 | | Standard Deviation |
0.075 |
0.073 | | Sample Size
(Number of grid squares containing calbindin immunostaining | 24 | 32 | | P-value | 0.0083 | | |
Stain Type |
Calbindin Immunostaining | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Condition | Tap Water | Ethanol | | | Mean Cell Count | 27.00 | 39.375 | | | Standard Deviation | 6.450 | 14.020 | | | Sample Size
(n=number of images) | 6 | 8 | | | P-Value | | 0.0819 | | | | | | | | Table 2. Mean cell count, standard deviation (SD), sample size, and p-value of calbindin immunostaining of P0 mouse cerebella exposed to tap water and ethanol from each litter Table of mean cell count, standard deviation, sample size, and p-value for each of the fourcalbindin immunostained P0 mouse cerebella observed. Data was collected using automated cell counting in the ImageJ software program and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and Vassar Stats. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | Figure 3. No difference in cell count in calbindin stained cerebella | | | of P0 mice exposed to ethanol. Graph of mean cell count ofcalbindin immunostained sections of P0 mouse cerebella prenatally administered tap water and ethanol. Values were determined using automated cell counting in ImageJ. A non-directional Mann-Whitney U tests indicated that ethanol exposed mice did not have significantly different numbers of calbindin stained cells (mean=39.375, sample size (n)=8 images containing calbindin stained cells) than controls (mean=27.00,(n)=6 images containing calbindin stained cells; p=0.0819) . Error bars indicate standard deviation. | | |

FAQs

How does prenatal ethanol exposure affect calbindin immunostaining intensity in the P0 mouse cerebellum?

Ethanol-exposed mice show less intense calbindin immunostaining than tap-water controls in cerebellar sections based on visual observation and quantified mean ROD values.

What do the mean ROD results show between ethanol and tap-water groups?

The ethanol group has a higher mean ROD reported in the table, with a p-value of 0.0083 indicating a statistically significant difference from the tap-water control group.

Does prenatal ethanol exposure change the number of calbindin-stained Purkinje cells?

Automated cell counting indicates no statistically significant difference in calbindin-stained cell counts between ethanol-exposed and control mice (p=0.0819).

Sep 2, 2026

Uploaded by Chloe Bennett