Université de Fribourg

Deficiency in parvalbumin, but not in calbindin D-28k upregulates mitochondrial volume and decreases smooth endoplasmic reticulum surface selectively in a peripheral, subplasmalemmal region in the soma of Purkinje cells

Chen, G. ; Racay, Peter ; Bichet, S. ; Celio, Marco R. ; Eggli, P. ; Schwaller, Beat

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...

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

Developmental changes in Parvalbumin regulate presynaptic Ca²⁺ signaling

Collin, Thibault ; Chat, Mireille ; Lucas, Marie Gabrielle ; Moreno, Herman ; Racay, Peter ; Schwaller, Beat ; Marty, Alain ; Llano, Isabel

In: The Journal of Neuroscience, 2005, vol. 25, no. 1, p. 96-107

Certain interneurons contain large concentrations of specific Ca²⁺-binding proteins (CBPs), but consequences on presynaptic Ca²⁺ signaling are poorly understood. Here we show that expression of the slow CBP parvalbumin (PV) in cerebellar interneurons is cell specific and developmentally regulated, leading to characteristic changes in presynaptic Ca²⁺ dynamics (Cai). Using...