Polyploidy in the human nervous system: Part 2. Studies of the glial cell populations of the purkinje cell layer of the human cerebellum

Abstract

We have been able to confirm and extend previous findings reporting the presence of polyploid classes of glia within the Purkinje cell layer of the human cerebellum. This polyploidy is not age-dependent, and a strict numerical proportionality exists between these glial types and the Purkinje cell. For each Purkinje neurone there are 250 diploid, 50 tetraploid and 1 octoploid glial cells. We speculate as to the function of these glial types in relation both to the Purkinje cell itself and the cerebellum as a whole, and suggest that they may be producers of specific RNA species involved in cerebellar memory.