In: PLoS Biology, 2010, vol. 8, no. 9, p. e1000492
Networks of specific inhibitory interneurons regulate principal cell firing in several forms of neocortical activity. Fast-spiking (FS) interneurons are potently self-inhibited by GABAergic autaptic transmission, allowing them to precisely control their own firing dynamics and timing. Here we show that in FS interneurons, high-frequency trains of action potentials can generate a delayed and...
|
In: American Journal of Pathology, 2009, vol. 174, p. 2324-2336
The calcium-binding protein calretinin has emerged as a useful marker for the identification of mesotheliomas of the epithelioid and mixed types, but its putative role in tumor development has not been addressed previously. Although exposure to asbestos fibers is considered the main cause of mesothelioma, undoubtedly, not all mesothelioma patients have a history of asbestos exposure. The question...
|
In: ACS Nano, 2009, vol. 3, no. 8, p. 2274–2280
At present, nanofilaments are not exclusively based on carbon atoms but can be produced from many inorganic materials in the form of nanotubes and nanowires. It is essential to systematically assess the acute toxicity of these newly synthesized materials since it cannot be predicted from the known toxicity of the same material in another form. Here, the cellular toxicity of TiO₂-based...
|
In: PLoS Biology, 2007/5/11/e311 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050311
Cooperativity is one of the most important properties of molecular interactions in biological systems. It is the ability to influence ligand binding at one site of a macromolecule by previous ligand binding at another site of the same molecule. As a consequence, the affinity of the macromolecule for the ligand is either decreased (negative cooperativity) or increased (positive cooperativity)....
|
In: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, 2008/38/4/10.1016/j.mcn.2008.04.010
Engrailed transcription factors regulate survival, cell fate decisions and axon pathfinding in central neurons. En-2 can also attenuate Purkinje cell (PC) maturation. Here, we use array analysis to scrutinize gene expression in developing PCs overexpressing Engrailed-2 (L7En-2). The majority (70%) of regulated genes was found down-regulated in L7En-2 cerebella, consistent with the known...
|
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007, vol. 104, no. 37, p. 14849-14854
The distal convoluted tubule (DCT) plays an essential role in the reabsorption of NaCl by the kidney, a process that can be inhibited by thiazide diuretics. Parvalbumin (PV), a Ca²⁺-binding protein that plays a role in muscle fibers and neurons, is selectively expressed in the DCT, where its role remains unknown. We therefore investigated the renal phenotype of PV knockout mice...
|
In: The Journal of Neuroscience, 2007, vol. 27, no. 9, p. 2261-2271
Presynaptic Ca²⁺ signaling plays a crucial role in short-term plasticity of synaptic transmission. Here, we studied the role of mobile endogenous presynaptic Ca²⁺ buffer(s) in modulating paired-pulse facilitation at a large excitatory nerve terminal in the auditory brainstem, the calyx of Held. To do so, we assessed the effect of presynaptic whole-cell recording, which should lead to the...
|
In: Behavioural Brain Research, 2007, vol. 178, no. 2, p. 250-261
We investigated the role of the two calcium-binding proteins parvalbumin (PV) and calbindin D-28k (CB) in the locomotor activity and motor coordination using null-mutant mice for PV (PV−/−), CB (CB−/−) or both proteins (PV−/−CB−/−). These proteins are expressed in distinct, mainly non-overlapping populations of neurons of the central and peripheral nervous system and PV...
|
In: Journal of Neurochemistry, 2007, vol. 100, no. 3, p. 727–735
The Ca²⁺-binding protein (CaBP) parvalbumin (PV) is strongly expressed in cerebellar Purkinje neurones (PNs). It is considered a pure Ca²⁺ buffer, lacking any Ca²⁺ sensor function. Consistent with this notion, no PV ligand was found in dendrites of PNs. Recently, however, we observed for a related CaBP that ligand-targeting differs substantially between dendrites and axons. Thus, here we...
|
In: Neuroscience, 2006, vol. 142, no. 1, p. 97-105
The Ca²⁺-binding proteins parvalbumin (PV) and calbindin D-28k (CB) are key players in the intracellular Ca²⁺-buffering in specific cells including neurons and have profound effects on spatiotemporal aspects of Ca²⁺ transients. The previously observed increase in mitochondrial volume density in fast-twitch muscle of PV−/− mice is viewed as a specific compensation mechanism to...
|
