A standardized automatic procedure to evaluate cell numbers in low cell density tissues by image analysis: application to the Staggerer mutant mouse cerebellum.

To obtain a reliable and fast quantification in low cell density tissues, we have developed a standardized procedure based on image analysis. The successive steps of quantification, starting with the necessary histological procedure and ending with the desired quantitative parameters, are described. Excepting the histological procedure, we have attempted to automate all the subsequent steps of the experiment, especially the acquisition of the data by an image analyser TAS (Leitz), and the storage and the analysis of these data by a PDP 11-34 computer. The final parameters calculated by such a method are the total number of cells and the cell density within the organ under study, either for all the cells, or for different cellular categories. This procedure has been applied to the quantitative study of cerebellar cells of an adult Staggerer mutant mouse and the results obtained are presented.