An image generated by the COBRE NIEF was selected for the cover of the Journal of Comparative Neurology (January 2025 issue). The image shows a portion of the central nervous system of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata, a major intermediate host for Schistosoma mansoni, the causative agent for schistosomiasis. The wholemount tissue was processed for immunohistochemical detection of the cholecystokinin/sulfakinin (CCK/SK) neuropeptide (green) and the mRNA that encodes the CCK/SK precursor protein (magenta). A merge of two images shows colocalization (white) of the peptide and its transcript in two clusters of neurons. The mRNA is confined to the neuronal cell bodies and is not present in the fibers that course through and between the ganglia. The image was generated by Alana Rivera-Dominguez in collaboration with Drs. Dina Bracho-Rincón and Mark W. Miller.
Rivera A, Bracho-Rincón D, Miller MW. Localization of Cholecystokinin/Sulfakinin Neuropeptides in Biomphalaria glabrata, an Intermediate Host for Schistosomiasis. J Comp Neurol. 2025 Jan;533(1):e70016. doi: 10.1002/cne.70016. PMID: 39825709; PMCID: PMC11841659.
