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Ontogeny of the calcium binding protein parvalbumin in the rat nervous system

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Summary

In the adult rat brain, the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin is preferentially associated with spontaneously fast-firing, metabolically active neurons and coexists with gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) in cortical inhibitory interneurons. Whether this is so in developing neurons has not been explored. To this end, we have used parvalbumin immunohistochemistry to study expression of this protein in the rat nervous system during pre- and postnatal life. Our results indicate that parvalbumin first appears at embryonic day 13 in sensory system of the spinal cord, in the vestibular (VIII), the trigeminal (V) and the visuomotor (III, IV VI) systems, and develops rapidly during the following days. In these locations the expression of parvalbumin coincides with the beginning of physiological activity in nerve cells. In the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-containing interneurons of the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, as well as in the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, parvalbumin only appears postnatally. It lags behind the development of GABA-immunoreactivity by 1 to 2 weeks. The beginning of its expression, in the cerebellum at least, coincides with the arrival of excitatory synaptic input and the onset of spontaneous activity. Thus, during the development of the nervous system, the expression of parvalbumin is subordinate to the establishment of physiological activity.

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Abbreviations

3:

oculomotor nucleus

4:

trochlear nucleus

4n:

trochlear nerve

6:

abducens nucleus

12:

hypoglossal nucleus

3n:

oculomotor nerve

4V:

4th ventricle

5g:

trigeminal ganglion

5n:

trigeminal nerve

5mx:

trigeminal nerve, maxillary branch

8c1:

cochlear ganglion

8g:

vestibular ganglion

8n:

vestibular nerve

10n:

vagal nerve

Amb:

ambiguus nucleus

CaBP:

calcium-binding protein

Ce:

cerebellum

ChP:

choroid plexus

cl:

cochlea

CPu:

caudate putamen

Cu:

cuneate nucleus

Cx:

cerebral cortex

df:

dorsal funiculus spinal cord

dr:

dorsal root spinal nerve

E15:

embryonic day 15 of gestation

ECN:

external cuneate nucleus

Fr:

formatio reticularis

GABA:

gamma-amino-butyric acid

GAD:

glutamate decarboxylase

gl:

granular layer cerebellum

Gr:

gracile nucleus

Hip:

hippocampus

H:

heart

inc:

inferior colliculus

IOK:

inferior olive, kap cooy medial nucleus

Li:

liver

LMol:

lacunosum moleculare layer hippocampus

Lu:

lung

LV:

lateral ventricle

LVe(v):

lateral vestibular nucleus (ventral)

LVe(d):

lateral vestibular nucleus (dorsal)

me5:

mesencephalic trigeminal tract

Me5:

mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus

Mes:

mesencephalon

ml:

molecular layer cerebellum

MVe:

medial vestibular nucleus

Or:

oriens layer hippocampus

P 2:

postnatal day 2

Pu:

Purkinje-cell layer, cerebellum

Py:

pyramidal cell layer, hippocampus

R:

red nucleus

Rhom:

rhombencephalon

Rt:

reticular thalamic nucleus

sk:

skin

sn:

substantia nigra

spgl:

spinal ganglion

sp5:

spinal trigeminal tract

SpVe:

spinal vestibular nucleus

Sp5I:

spinal trigeminal nucleus, interpolar

suc:

superior colliculus

SuVe:

superior vestibular nucleus

TBS:

tris-buffered saline

tch:

tactile hair sinus

ve:

vestibular epithelium

vb:

vertebral body

vh:

ventral horn spinal cord

VL:

ventrolateral thalamic nucleus

VP:

ventral pallidum

vr:

ventral root spinal nerve

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  1. Marco R. Celio

    Present address: Institute of Histology, University of Fribourg, Rte A. Gockel, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland

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  1. Institute of Anatomy, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Olshausenstrasse 40, W-2300, Kiel, Germany

    Sven Solbach & Marco R. Celio

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  1. Sven Solbach
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Solbach, S., Celio, M.R. Ontogeny of the calcium binding protein parvalbumin in the rat nervous system. Anat Embryol 184, 103–124 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00942742

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