Université de Fribourg

Profiling parvalbumin interneurons using iPSC: challenges and perspectives for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Filice, Federica ; Schwaller, Beat ; Michel, Tanja M. ; Grünblatt, Edna

In: Molecular Autism, 2020, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 10

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are persistent conditions resulting from disrupted/altered neurodevelopment. ASD multifactorial etiology—and its numerous comorbid conditions—heightens the difficulty in identifying its underlying causes, thus obstructing the development of effective therapies. Increasing evidence from both animal and human studies suggests an altered functioning of the...

Université de Fribourg

Inducible and reversible silencing of the Pvalb gene in mice: An in vitro and in vivo study

Filice, Federica ; Blum, Walter ; Lauber, Emanuel ; Schwaller, Beat

In: European Journal of Neuroscience, 2019, vol. 50, no. 4, p. 2694–2706

Inducible and reversible regulation of gene expression is a powerful approach for unraveling gene functions. Here, we describe the generation of a system to efficiently downregulate in a reversible and inducible manner the Pvalb gene coding for the calcium‐binding protein parvalbumin (PV) in mice. We made use of an IPTG‐inducible short hairpin RNA to activate Pvalb transcript knockdown...

Université de Fribourg

Dysregulation of parvalbumin expression in the Cntnap2−/− mouse model of autism spectrum disorder

Lauber, Emanuel ; Filice, Federica ; Schwaller, Beat

In: Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 2018, vol. 11, p. -

Due to the complex and heterogeneous etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), identification of convergent pathways and/or common molecular endpoints in the pathophysiological processes of ASD development are highly needed in order to facilitate treatment approaches targeted at the core symptoms. We recently reported on decreased expression of the Ca2+-binding protein parvalbumin (PV) in...

Université de Fribourg

17-β estradiol increases parvalbumin levels in Pvalb heterozygous mice and attenuates behavioral phenotypes with relevance to autism core symptoms

Filice, Federica ; Lauber, Emanuel ; Vörckel, Karl Jakob ; Wöhr, Markus ; Schwaller, Beat

In: Molecular Autism, 2018, vol. 9, p. 15

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by two core symptoms: impaired social interaction and communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests. The pathophysiology of ASD is not yet fully understood, due to a plethora of genetic and environmental risk factors that might be associated with or causal for ASD. Recent findings...

Université de Fribourg

Parvalbumin neurons as a hub in autism spectrum disorders

Lauber, Emanuel ; Filice, Federica ; Schwaller, Beat

In: Journal of Neuroscience Research, 2018, vol. 96, no. 3, p. 360–361

Université de Fribourg

Parvalbumin-expressing ependymal cells in rostral lateral ventricle wall adhesions contribute to aging-related ventricle stenosis in mice

Filice, Federica ; Celio, Marco R. ; Babalian, Alexandre ; Blum, Walter ; Szabolcsi, Viktoria

In: Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2017, vol. 525, no. 15, p. 3266–3285

Aging-associated ependymal-cell pathologies can manifest as ventricular gliosis, ventricle enlargement, or ventricle stenosis. Ventricle stenosis and fusion of the lateral ventricle (LV) walls is associated with a massive decline of the proliferative capacities of the stem cell niche in the affected subventricular zone (SVZ) in aging mice. We examined the brains of adult C57BL/6 mice and...

Université de Fribourg

Prenatal valproate exposure differentially affects parvalbumin-expressing neurons and related circuits in the cortex and striatum of mice

Lauber, Emanuel ; Filice, Federica ; Schwaller, Beat

In: Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 2016, vol. 9, p. -

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise a number of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental diseases characterized by core behavioral symptoms in the domains of social interaction, language/communication and repetitive or stereotyped patterns of behavior. In utero exposure to valproic acid (VPA) has evolved as a highly recognized rodent ASD model due to the robust behavioral phenotype observed in...

Université de Fribourg

Reduction in parvalbumin expression not loss of the parvalbumin-expressing GABA interneuron subpopulation in genetic parvalbumin and shank mouse models of autism

Filice, Federica ; Vörckel, Karl Jakob ; Sungur, Ayse Özge ; Wöhr, Markus ; Schwaller, Beat

In: Molecular Brain, 2016, vol. 9, p. 10

Background A reduction of the number of parvalbumin (PV)-immunoreactive (PV⁺) GABAergic interneurons or a decrease in PV immunoreactivity was reported in several mouse models of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This includes Shank mutant mice, with SHANK being one of the most important gene families mutated in human ASD. Similar findings were obtained in heterozygous (PV+/-)...