Université de Fribourg

Ectopic parvalbumin expression in mouse forebrain neurons increases excitotoxic injury provoked by ibotenic acid injection into the striatum

Maetzler, Walter ; Bendfeldt, Kerstin ; Racay, Peter ; Vollenweider, Florence ; Schwaller, Beat

In: Experimental Neurology, 2004, vol. 186, no. 1, p. 78-88

A neuroprotective role for Ca²⁺-binding proteins in neurodegenerative conditions ranging from ischemia to Alzheimer's disease has been suggested in several studies. A key phenomenon in neurodegeneration is the Ca²⁺-mediated excitotoxicity brought about by the neurotransmitter glutamate. To evaluate the relative ability to resist excitotoxicity of neurons containing the slow-onset...

Université de Fribourg

Microcalcification after excitotoxicity is enhanced in transgenic mice expressing parvalbumin in all neurones, may commence in neuronal mitochondria and undergoes structural modifications over time

Maetzler, W. ; Stünitz, H. ; Bendfeldt, Kerstin ; Vollenweider, F. ; Schwaller, Beat ; Nitsch, C.

In: Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology, 2009, vol. 35, no. 2, p. 165 - 177

Aims: Parenchymal microcalcification in the brain coincides with neurodegenerative diseases, but is also frequently found in neurologically normal individuals. The origin and role of this process are still under debate. Parvalbumin (PV) is a protein acting as a Ca2+ buffer and Ca2+ shuttle towards intracellular Ca2+ sinks, like mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum. Constitutively, it is...