BPoD has moved!

BPoD has recently changed our domain name - we can now be found at bpod.org.uk

Please update your bookmarks!

Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Overgrowth in Autism
25 August 2015

Overgrowth in Autism

When autism was first described in the 1940s, an abnormally large head size – macrocephaly – was reported as a feature of the condition. To find out why, researchers focused on a gene that’s mutated in about 20% of people with autism, called PTEN, which regulates cells by making sure they don’t grow and divide too quickly. Disrupting PTEN led to an increase in growth of two types of cells in the brain – neurons and glia – visualised here using red fluorescence. They found that in mice with the disrupted gene, at birth neurons were more abundant and, in adulthood, glia were more abundant than normal. The overproduction of neurons and glia at these stages was also linked to increased signalling of a molecule called β-catenin. As PTEN and β-Catenin work together to help regulate cell growth, an imbalance could contribute to abnormal growth of brain cells in people with autism.

Written by Katie Panteli

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.