The Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at Washington University (IDDRC@WUSTL) is one of 14 such centers funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development through an act of Congress in 1963.  They are located in some of the nation’s top universities/hospitals and their mission is to advance the knowledge, prevention, and treatment of intellectual and developmental disability (IDD).

Dr. Noguchi is leader of the Neuropathology Subunit (NPS) which is a subdivision of the IDDRC@WUSTL whose goal is to provide consultation and services to investigators characterizing neuropathology in animal models of IDD.  These services include basic histopathology such as perfusion, fixation, embedding, sectioning, staining of CNS tissues, and imaging.  The NPS also provides investigator training in these methods, research design, data analysis, and interpretation.  Histological stains include de Olmos cupric silver staining, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry.

The NPS also conducts and/or assists investigators in quantitative tissue analyses using unbiased stereology and unbiased sampling of the brain or brain regions of interest. The NPS is equipped with digital imaging microscopes with electronically driven stages and Microbrightfield software specifically designed to facilitate unbiased stereological quantitative analysis. The NPS also provides ultrastructural analysis of pathological changes in the developing brain using electron microscopy.

For inquiries regarding the use of core services please contact:

Dr. Kevin Noguchi at noguchik@wustl.edu

Dr. Nuri Farber at farbern@wustl.edu.

Core services offered by the Neuropathology Subunit: A) Immunohistochemistry/In Situ Hybridization: An image of a combination of in situ hybridization (Zika probe, red), DAPI staining (nuclear stain, blue), and immunohistochemistry (GFAP, green) is used to visualize regional infection in relation to the astrocyte population. B) de Olmos Silver Staining: While markers such as activated caspase-3/TUNEL staining specifically label apoptotic cells, silver staining (black regions) can identify all types of neurodegeneration. C) Stereological Cell Counting: While counting millions of cells can be a tedious process, stereology uses systematic random sampling to statistically estimate the number of cells in a region thereby drastically reducing workload. D) Electron Microscopy: In brightfield microscopy, magnification becomes more difficult as the structures being resolved approach the wavelength of light. Electron microscopy uses an electron beam with a much smaller wavelength that allows higher magnification and the visualization of subcellular structures.
We have also developed system for cell quantification using artificial intelligence (based on the Tensorflow AI library and custom written scripts). This is particularly helpful when high throughput is needed for large datasets. Please click on image above to see video (or click here)