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Hirano body


Hirano bodies are intracellular aggregates of actin and actin-associated proteins observed in the neurons (nerve cells) of individuals afflicted with certain neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. They are often described as rod-shaped, crystal-like, and eosinophilic (pink after staining with haematoxylin and eosin). They are frequently seen in hippocampal pyramidal cells.[1] An experimental model of Hirano body formation has been reported, using a genetically altered strain of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum.[2]

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References

References

  1. Ramzi Cotran, Vinay Kumar, Tucker Collins (1999). Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease, Sixth Edition. W.B. Saunders. ISBN 072167335X.
  2. Maselli AG, Davis R, Furukawa R, Fechheimer M (2002). “Formation of Hirano bodies in Dictyostelium and mammalian cells induced by expression of a modified form of an actin-crosslinking protein”. J. Cell. Sci. 115 (Pt 9): 1939–49. PMID 11956325.

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