The MacBrain Resource Center ( MBRC ) rhesus macaque postnatal brain histology datasets: Enabling new discoveries through NHP tissue and digital data Repositories
11 affiliations
- 1Department of Neuroscience, MacBrain Resource Center (MBRC) Yale University School of Medicine New Haven Connecticut USA
- 2Aligning Science across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network Chevy Chase Maryland USA
- 3CNS Gene Therapy Program, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) University of Navarra Pamplona Spain
- 4Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (Ciberned‐ISCIII) Madrid Spain
- 5Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience George Mason University Fairfax Virginia USA
- 6School of Systems Biology George Mason University Fairfax Virginia USA
- 7Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine Boston Massachusetts USA
- 8Department of Neuroscience Yale University School of Medicine New Haven Connecticut USA
- 9Department of Psychiatry Yale University School of Medicine New Haven Connecticut USA
- 10Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics University of Oxford Oxford UK
- 11Department of Comparative Medicine Yale University School of Medicine New Haven Connecticut USA
Abstract
In our companion paper, in this issue, we describe our efforts to provide embryonic rhesus macaque ( Macaca mulatta ) brain histology for the study of brain development, with emphasis on cortical development. Here we continue our description of efforts to provide postnatal rhesus macaque brain histology relevant for the study of cellular circuits which continue to mature and change well into postnatal life, in males and females, and which naturally deteriorate in the elderly. The mission of the MacBrain Resource Center (MBRC) in the Department of Neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine is to provide a cost‐effective means for researchers to conduct de novo studies on this non‐human primate (NHP) brain animal model using materials already in existence and therefore without exorbitant costs and without having to sacrifice additional animals ( https://medicine.yale.edu/neuroscience/macbrain/mission/ ). Here we report on how this mission is being accomplished. Because MBRC materials have been and continue to be gathered from unrelated studies over many years, most methods have already been published. The MBRC divides different types of materials into separate Collections. The present description of histo‐ and immunohistochemical processes is limited to current work that provides materials to populate Collection 6 and is accurate as of May 2026. Collections in the MBRC are dynamic. Of the 8 current MBRC datasets, here we emphasize Collections 5, 6, and 7 and illustrate through examples how different materials are currently being used to conduct research both in cortical and subcortical structures. Many of the electron microscopy (EM) blocks in Collection 5 sampling the brain at numerous regions come from the >100 cases of titrated thymidine ( 3 H‐TdR) injections in Collection 1 in addition to cases in Collections 2 and 3. Altogether, at present there are ~1000 inventoried EM blocks collected from postnatal cases. Collection 6 currently contains >30,000 digital images illustrating 35 different cellular and fiber markers in 32 brains of both sexes ranging from P0 to 32 years of age. Materials in Collections 6 and 7 keep growing as we constantly process and add NHP brains to them. Based on the molecular, genetic, and anatomical similarities between this animal model and human, we underline the importance of archiving and (re‐)using rhesus macaque brains to foster neuroscience research. As far as we know the NHP brain materials in the MBRC Collections constitute the largest datasets of their kind in the world.
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BibTeX
@article{mendozasilva2026macbrain,
title = {{The MacBrain Resource Center ( MBRC ) rhesus macaque postnatal brain histology datasets: Enabling new discoveries through NHP tissue and digital data Repositories}},
author = {Valeria Mendoza-Silva and Lucy Greene and Emma Burke and Cristina Canales and Julia Chocarro and José Luis Lanciego and Khuleshwari Kurrey and Phil Barello and Aya Nusir and Nadine Kabbani and Kathleen S. Rockland and Dibyadeep Datta and Jon I. Arellano and Amy F.T. Arnsten and Yury M. Morozov and Bashir Ahmed and Zoltán Molnár and Caroline J. Zeiss and PASKO T. RAKIC and Alvaro Duque},
journal = {Journal of Anatomy},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1111/joa.70183},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.70183},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The MacBrain Resource Center ( MBRC ) rhesus macaque postnatal brain histology datasets: Enabling new discoveries through NHP tissue and digital data Repositories
AU - Valeria Mendoza-Silva
AU - Lucy Greene
AU - Emma Burke
AU - Cristina Canales
AU - Julia Chocarro
AU - José Luis Lanciego
AU - Khuleshwari Kurrey
AU - Phil Barello
AU - Aya Nusir
AU - Nadine Kabbani
AU - Kathleen S. Rockland
AU - Dibyadeep Datta
AU - Jon I. Arellano
AU - Amy F.T. Arnsten
AU - Yury M. Morozov
AU - Bashir Ahmed
AU - Zoltán Molnár
AU - Caroline J. Zeiss
AU - PASKO T. RAKIC
AU - Alvaro Duque
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/04
JO - Journal of Anatomy
DO - 10.1111/joa.70183
UR - https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.70183
AB - In our companion paper, in this issue, we describe our efforts to provide embryonic rhesus macaque ( Macaca mulatta ) brain histology for the study of brain development, with emphasis on cortical development. Here we continue our description of efforts to provide postnatal rhesus macaque brain histology relevant for the study of cellular circuits which continue to mature and change well into postnatal life, in males and females, and which naturally deteriorate in the elderly. The mission of the MacBrain Resource Center (MBRC) in the Department of Neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine is to provide a cost‐effective means for researchers to conduct de novo studies on this non‐human primate (NHP) brain animal model using materials already in existence and therefore without exorbitant costs and without having to sacrifice additional animals ( https://medicine.yale.edu/neuroscience/macbrain/mission/ ). Here we report on how this mission is being accomplished. Because MBRC materials have been and continue to be gathered from unrelated studies over many years, most methods have already been published. The MBRC divides different types of materials into separate Collections. The present description of histo‐ and immunohistochemical processes is limited to current work that provides materials to populate Collection 6 and is accurate as of May 2026. Collections in the MBRC are dynamic. Of the 8 current MBRC datasets, here we emphasize Collections 5, 6, and 7 and illustrate through examples how different materials are currently being used to conduct research both in cortical and subcortical structures. Many of the electron microscopy (EM) blocks in Collection 5 sampling the brain at numerous regions come from the >100 cases of titrated thymidine ( 3 H‐TdR) injections in Collection 1 in addition to cases in Collections 2 and 3. Altogether, at present there are ~1000 inventoried EM blocks collected from postnatal cases. Collection 6 currently contains >30,000 digital images illustrating 35 different cellular and fiber markers in 32 brains of both sexes ranging from P0 to 32 years of age. Materials in Collections 6 and 7 keep growing as we constantly process and add NHP brains to them. Based on the molecular, genetic, and anatomical similarities between this animal model and human, we underline the importance of archiving and (re‐)using rhesus macaque brains to foster neuroscience research. As far as we know the NHP brain materials in the MBRC Collections constitute the largest datasets of their kind in the world.
SN - 0021-8782
SN - 1469-7580
ER -