The role of parvalbumin and calbindin D28k in experimental scrapie.
Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol
; 34(4): 435-45, 2008 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-18005331
ABSTRACT
AIMS:
Prion diseases are generally characterized by pronounced neuronal loss. In particular, a subpopulation of inhibitory neurones, characterized by the expression of the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV), is selectively destroyed early in the course of human and experimental prion diseases. By contrast, nerve cells expressing calbindin D28 k (CB), another calcium-binding protein, as well as PV/CB coexpressing Purkinje cells, are well preserved.METHODS:
To evaluate, if PV and CB may directly contribute to neuronal vulnerability or resistance against nerve cell death, respectively, we inoculated PV- and CB-deficient mice, and corresponding controls, with 139A scrapie and compared them with regard to incubation times and histological lesion profiles.RESULTS:
While survival times were slightly but significantly diminished in CB-/-, but not PV-/- mice, scrapie lesion profiles did not differ between knockout mice and controls. There was a highly significant and selective loss of isolectin B(4)-decorated perineuronal nets (which specifically demarcate the extracellular matrix surrounding the 'PV-expressing' subpopulation of cortical interneurones) in scrapie inoculated PV+/+, as well as PV-/- mice. Purkinje cell numbers were not different in CB+/+ and CB-/- mice.CONCLUSIONS:
Our results suggest that PV expression is a surrogate marker for neurones highly vulnerable in prion diseases, but that the death of these neurones is unrelated to PV expression and thus based on a still unknown pathomechanism. Further studies including the inoculation of mice ectopically (over)expressing CB are necessary to determine whether the shortened survival of CB-/- mice is indeed due to a neuroprotective effect of this molecule.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Parvalbuminas
/
Scrapie
/
Proteína G de Ligação ao Cálcio S100
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol
Ano de publicação:
2008
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Áustria