Welcome to Bhandare lab
at the School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, UK.
Glia Under Stress - Virtual Lab Simulation
Interactive online lab for neuroscience students
Microglia
Resident immune cells of the CNS; surveillance & synaptic pruning.
State: Resting
Resting: thin ramified processes; Reactive: bushy, enlarged soma, retracted processes.
Phagocytosis
Cytokines (IL‑1β, TNF‑α)
Synapse pruning
Quick quiz: Which glial cell increases GFAP during stress?
Astrocytes
Metabolic support, K⁺ buffering, neurotransmitter uptake; network Ca²⁺ signaling.
State: Resting
Reactive: ↑GFAP, hypertrophy, swollen processes, elevated Ca²⁺ activity.
Glutamate uptake
K⁺ buffering
Ca²⁺ waves
Oligodendrocytes
Myelinate axons to increase conduction velocity; metabolic support for neurons.
Myelin
Saltatory conduction
LPS (Inflammation)
↑ IL‑1β, TNF‑α; strong microglial activation.
ATP (Danger signal)
Microglial process retraction; astrocyte Ca²⁺ waves.
Kainic Acid (Epilepsy model)
Astrocyte swelling, ↑ glutamate release, network hyperexcitability.
No stressor selected yet.
Variables
Selected stressor: None
Outputs (Simulated)
Ca²⁺ Imaging (heatmap)
Warmer → higher ΔF/F₀
Cytokine Release
Bar heights scale with IL‑1β, TNF‑α, IL‑6
Morphology Index (Ramification)
Lower ramification → more reactive microglia; Astrocyte swelling shown as radius change.
Tasks
- Measure cytokine increases using the on-screen bars.
- Compare morphology indices between conditions.
- Explain what the data suggests about glial reactivity.
Interactive Quiz
Drag-and-Drop Classification
Drop into the correct category
Inflammation
Hyperexcitability
Short Reflection
Choose Interventions
Predicted Changes