Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Parvalbumins”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

A new member of the troponin C superfamily: comparison of the primary structures of rat oncomodulin and rat parvalbumin.

When the amino-acid sequence of the 108-residue, rat tumour calcium-binding protein, oncomodulin, was aligned with that of rat muscle parvalbumin, 55 homologous positions were found, with an additional 33 single base-pair substitutions. This extensive homology, with virtual identity of the calcium-binding domains, signalled oncomodulin to be a member of the troponin C superfamily. The presence of Cys-18 and Phe-66 in oncomodulin, plus its isoelectric point of 3.9, suggest that this tumour protein is a beta-parvalbumin, rather than a muscle alpha-parvalbumin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Transient co-localization of calretinin, parvalbumin, and calbindin-D28K in developing visual cortex of monkey.

This paper reports a double-labelling immunocytochemical study of the three calcium-binding proteins calretinin, parvalbumin, and calbindin-D28k in developing and adult Macaca primary visual cortex. In adult visual cortex, each protein marks a subset of GABAergic neurons with a characteristic laminar distribution and virtually no co-localization was found between these three proteins, suggesting that each calcium-binding protein may serve as a marker for one or more cortical subcircuits. The immature visual cortex, immunostained using identical techniques was then analysed to determine if each calcium-binding protein could serve as a developmental marker for these circuits. The Cajal-Retzius cells of layer 1 contained all three proteins during development. Calbindin-D28k and calretinin were co-localized starting at Fd (foetal day) 45 and after Fd125, parvalbumin also was present in the same Cajal-Retzius cells. All three proteins continued to be expressed until the Cajal-Retzius disappeared postnatally. In layers 2-6 calbindin-D28k and calretinin were never co-localized. In contrast, parvalbumin and calretinin were found in neurons of deep layer 3 from Fd 155 to postnatal (P6) weeks with a few persisting even later. Before birth almost all PV+ neurons in layers 4-6 were CaB+, but by P3 weeks only a few PV+/CaB+ neurons remained in layer 4C and these completely disappeared by P6 weeks. Co-localization in layer 4 neurons overlaps the period of ocular dominance segregation, suggesting that the onset of cortical maturity coincides with segregation of calcium-binding proteins within the GABA interneurons.

Animals↗

Parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in the entorhinal cortex of the rat: localization, morphology, connectivity and ultrastructure.

We studied the distribution, morphology, ultrastructure and connectivity of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in the entorhinal cortex of the rat. Immunoreactive cell bodies were found in all layers of the entorhinal cortex except layer I. The highest numbers were observed in layers II and III of the dorsal division of the lateral entorhinal area whereas the lowest numbers occurred in the ventral division of the lateral entorhinal area. Most such neurons displayed multipolar configurations with smooth dendrites. We distinguished a type with long dendrites and a type with short dendrites. We also observed pyramidal immunoreactive neurons. A dense plexus of immunoreactive dendrites and axons was prominent in layers II and III of the dorsal division of the lateral entorhinal area and the medial entorhinal area. None of the parvalbumin-immunoreactive cells became retrogradely labelled after injection of horseradish peroxidase into the hippocampal formation. By electron microscopy, immunoreactivity was observed in cell bodies, dendrites, myelinated and unmyelinated axons and axon terminals. Immunoreactive dendrites and axons occurred in all cortical layers. We noted many myelinated immunoreactive axons. Immunoreactive axon terminals were medium sized, contained pleomorphic synaptic vesicles, and established symmetrical synapses. Both horseradish peroxidase labelled and unlabelled immunonegative cell bodies often received synapses from immunopositive axon terminals arranged in baskets. Synapses between immunoreactive axon terminals and unlabelled dendritic shafts and spines were abundant. Synapses with initial axon segments occurred less frequently. In addition, synaptic contacts were present between immunopositive axon terminals and cell bodies and dendrites. Thus, the several types of parvalbumin-containing neuron in the entorhinal cortex are interneurons, connected to one another and to immunonegative neurons through a network of synaptic contacts. Immunonegative cells projecting to the hippocampal formation receive axo-somatic basket synapses from immunopositive terminals. This connectivity may form the morphological substrate underlying the reported strong inhibition of cells in layers II and III of the entorhinal cortex projecting to the hippocampal formation.

Animals↗

Granule cells are the main source of excitatory input to a subpopulation of GABAergic hippocampal neurons as revealed by electron microscopic double staining for zinc histochemistry and parvalbumin immunocytochemistry.

Immunocytochemistry was combined with a recent modification of Timm's method to evaluate semiquantitatively the mossy fiber innervation of dendrites and somata of parvalbumin-containing neurons of the hilus of the dentate gyrus and the CA3 area of Ammon's horn. Using this electron microscopic double staining technique, it was found that (1) the overwhelming majority (95%) of terminals forming asymmetric synapses with parvalbumin-positive dendrites in the dentate hilus, and the strata pyramidale and lucidum of the CA3 area of Ammon's horn, originated from granule cells; (2) two-thirds of the asymmetric axosomatic terminals of parvalbumin-positive neurons contained zinc; and (3) no zinc-containing axon terminals formed synapses with somata or main dendritic shafts of the granule cells.

Animals↗

Parvalbumin conformers revealed by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy.

The binding of calcium to whiting (one tryptophan residue) and pike (one tyrosine residue) parvalbumins has been studied by means of kinetic and steady-state fluorescence techniques. The decay curves of the tryptophan and tyrosine fluorescence of the parvalbumins are best fitted by a sum of two exponents for any metal state of the proteins. The data can be interpreted as a nonexponential decay of the fluorescence of a single-type chromophore or in terms of equilibria between compact and relaxed conformers of the parvalbumins in each metal state. Fluorescence quenching by I-ions and effects of H2O/D2O substitution confirm the second interpretation. The constants of the equilibria have been evaluated.

Animals↗

Molecular cloning of the thymus-specific parvalbumin known as avian thymic hormone: isolation of a full length cDNA and expression of the recombinant protein in Escherichia coli.

The complete coding sequence of the thymus-specific parvalbumin called avian thymic hormone (ATH) has been cloned into Escherichia coli. The translated amino acid sequence was found to be identical to the sequence of map turtle parvalbumin at 90 of 108 positions. Northern blot analysis of thymic RNA indicated a transcript length of approximately 1050 bp. However, the ATH cDNA probe failed to hybridize to poly(A)+ RNA from chicken leg muscle, a further indication that avian thymic hormone is distinct from the muscle-associated parvalbumin previously isolated from chicken. Southern analysis of chicken genomic DNA suggests the presence of a single copy of the ATH gene, and the absence of hybridization between an ATH cDNA fragment and genomic DNA from rat and rabbit is confirmatory evidence that ATH expression is restricted to avian species. One of the full length ATH cDNA clones harbored an insert that lacked all 5' noncoding sequences. This cDNA was inserted without further alteration into the prokaryotic expression vector, pKK223-3. The resulting construction, which contains eleven base pairs between the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and the initiation codon, affords reasonably high levels of expression in E. coli. In most respects, recombinant ATH mimics the tissue-derived protein, retaining a similarly high affinity for Ca2+ ion (KCa = 14 +/- 5 nM). However, in contrast to ATH isolated from chicken thymus tissue, the N-terminal alanine of recombinant ATH is unacetylated. As a result, the isoelectric point is shifted upward from 4.3 to approximately 4.8.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Preparation and properties of carp muscle parvalbumin fragments A (residues 1 leads to 75) and B (residues 76 leads to 108).

The calcium-binding protein (parvalbumin), isolated from carp (Cyprinus carpio) muscle, has been specifically fragmented into two polypeptides by tryptic hydrolysis at the single arginine residue at position 75. Fragment A contains residues 1 leads to 75 and fragment B is composed of residues 76 leads to 108. The fragments have been characterized according to size, amino acid composition, carboxyl- and aminoterminal analysis. Both fragments appear to be homogeneous by these criteria. The intact protein is known to bind 2 mol of calcium per mol of parvalbumin, and although each fragment alone contains all of the essential ligands for the coordination of one Ca2+, neither fragment displays calcium binding activity. Attempts to reconstitute the two fragments, under a variety of conditions, into a functional complex which can bind calcium have been unsuccessful. The side chain of Arg-75 is known to occupy an internal position in the crystalline structure of parvalbumin (Kretsinger, R.H. and Nockolds, C.E. (1973) J. Biol. Chem. 248, 3313), where it is stabilized by an intricate network of hydrogen bonding involving the side chain of Glu-81. Although this internal salt bridge is approx. 20 A from either calcium binding site, it has been suggested that this structural feature of the molecule plays an essential role in the reversible binding of Ca2+. That the side chain of Arg-75 likewise occupies an internal position in the solution structure is indicated by its unavailability for reaction with 1,2-cyclohexanedione under conditions of physiological pH and temperature. However, in the presence of EDTA and at pH 8, it is readily modified by cyclohexanedione. This modification is accompanied by a concomitant loss in calcium binding activity. Reversal of the modification by treatment with hydroxylamine is accompanied by restoration of calcium binding activity. The serum of these data support the hypothesis that Arg-75 plays a critical role in the structural organization and calcium binding activity of the molecule, and in addition, suggests that the integrity of the peptide bond between Arg-75 and Ala-76 may be necessary for establishing the proper micro-environment required for formation of the internal salt bridge between Arg-75 and Glu-81.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Parvalbumins from coelacanth muscle. I. General survey.

Parvalbumins from coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) myogen have been isolated by gel filtration of Sephadex G-75 and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. Disc electrophoresis and cellulose acetate electrophoresis showed the homogeneity of the three first major parvalbumin peaks (pI = 5.44, pI = 4.95 and pI = 4.52). The fourth component was partially resolved into two more parvalbumins (pI = 3.78 and pI = 3.50) by preparative gel electrophoresis. Amino acid analyses and tryptic peptide maps separated the five components in two major categories. The two less acidic components differ only in the presence or absence of an N-terminal blocking group. The three more acidic components constitute the second category; in spite of this heterogeneity, they share the same amino acid sequence.

Amino Acids↗

Identification of a novel parvalbumin in avian thymic tissue.

A novel calcium-binding protein has been isolated from chicken thymus tissue. Its molecular weight (approximately 11,500) and characteristic interactions with Tb3+ and Eu3+ identify the protein as a member of the parvalbumin family. Electrophoretically distinct from both chicken (muscle) parvalbumin and avian thymic hormone, it represents the third parvalbumin to be identified in avian tissues and the second to be identified in the avian thymus gland.

Animals↗

Parvalbumin is highly colocalized with calbindin D28k and rarely with calcitonin gene-related peptide in dorsal root ganglia neurons of rat.

Sections of lumbar dorsal root ganglia from rat were analyzed by immunohistochemical techniques to determine the size distribution and numbers of cells containing parvalbumin and calbindin D28k and to establish their coexistence relationships with each other and with cells containing calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). The proportion of ganglia cells containing parvalbumin and calbindin D28k was 14% and 22%, respectively. The majority of cells immunoreactive for these proteins were of the large A type. Parvalbumin was colocalized almost completely (greater than 99%) with with calbindin D28k and minimally (less than 1%) with CGRP. Only 9% of the calbindin D28k-positive cells were immunoreactive for CGRP.

Animals↗

Parvalbumin- and calbindin-containing neurons in the monkey medial geniculate complex: differential distribution and cortical layer specific projections.

Neuronal immunoreactivity for the calcium binding proteins, parvalbumin and calbindin, has been examined immunohistochemically in the monkey medial geniculate complex. Neurons containing one or other of these proteins were present in most (but not all) regions of the complex and were differentially distributed; parvalbumin immunoreactive neurons tended to form densely packed clusters in the ventral nucleus and rather loose arrangements in the anterodorsal and posterodorsal nuclei, whereas most calbindin neurons were scattered, with concentrations in the caudal end of the posterodorsal and in the magnocellular nuclei. In fluorescent tracer experiments combined with immunohistochemistry, it was found that parvalbumin and calbindin neurons project to layer IV and to layer I, respectively, of the primary auditory cortex. These results suggest the presence of parallel and chemically differentiated geniculocortical pathways which make different contributions to the neuronal circuitry of the auditory cortex.

Animals↗

Immunocytochemical localization of parvalbumin- and neurofilament triplet protein immunoreactivity in the cat retina: colocalization in a subpopulation of AII amacrine cells.

Using antibodies against parvalbumin and neurofilament triplet protein, colocalization of these two neuronal markers was revealed in all of type A horizontal cells and alpha ganglion cells and in a small number of AII amacrine cells of the cat retina. Besides the double-labeled neurons, parvalbumin alone was present in type B horizontal cells, in small numbers of starburst- and A13-like amacrine cells and in the somata of unidentified ganglion cells. The processes of the double- or single-labeled amacrine cells did not have a continuous retinal cover. Although the parvalbumin- and neurofilament-immunolabeled amacrine cells belonged to groups of neurons with well-defined cell morphologies, their neurochemical features differed from other AII, starburst and A13 amacrine cells. The presence of these cells may be due to an accidental expression of an unusual combination of neurochemical features during retinal development. It is also possible that these cells support the functioning of ganglion cells with rarely occurring complex receptive fields.

Animals↗

Co-occurrence of gamma-aminobutyric acid, parvalbumin and the neurotensin-related neuropeptide LANT6 in pallidal, nigral and striatal neurons in pigeons and monkeys.

Immunohistochemical double-labeling techniques were used to examine the co-localization of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin and the neurotensin-related hexapeptide LANT6 in neurons of the striatum and its target areas in pigeons and monkeys. The studies revealed the existence of a population of striatal interneurons apparently containing all three of these substances in both monkeys and pigeons. The results also revealed that GABA and LANT6 were co-localized in numerous pallidal and nigral reticulata neurons that also contained parvalbumin in both species. Examination of diverse other cell groups in avian forebrain and midbrain revealed that parvalbumin and LANT6 were typically co-localized to GABAergic neurons. In light of the presence of pallidal, reticulata and striatal neurons containing these three substances in two widely divergent amniote groups such as pigeons and monkeys, it seems likely that: (1) comparable neuronal populations are present in other avian and mammalian species; and (2) these neuronal populations play a fundamental role in basal ganglia functions that requires these three substances.

Animals↗

Differential expression of the Ca2+-binding protein parvalbumin during myogenesis in Xenopus laevis.

We have used immunocytological techniques to examine the developmental expression of the Ca2+-binding protein parvalbumin in Xenopus laevis embryos. Western blot experiments show that at least three different forms of parvalbumin are expressed during embryogenesis; the tadpole tail expresses one form, adult brain expresses another, mylohyoid muscle expresses both, and gastrocnemius and sartorius muscles express these two plus a third form. Parvalbumin (PV) is first detectable by immunofluorescence at stages 24-25 of development, a time when myotomal muscles are differentiating and contractile activity occurs spontaneously in embryos. At metamorphosis, PV is expressed in developing limb muscles. While the majority of skeletal muscle fibers express high levels of PV in both embryos and adults, a second fiber type has no detectable PV. The arrangement of PV-containing fibers is stereotyped in each muscle group examined. Histochemical staining of tadpole muscles indicate that PV-containing fibers correspond to fast-twitch skeletal muscles, whereas those without PV correspond to slow-twitch muscles. During tail resorption at metamorphosis, PV appears to be extruded from dying tail muscle cells and taken up by phagocytic cells.

Animals↗

The inferior colliculus: calbindin and parvalbumin immunoreactivity in neural grafts.

The inferior colliculus was selected as a brain stem site for study of neural grafting and identification of calcium binding proteins. Unilateral ablation sites of eight midbrain inferior colliculus in adult Long-Evans rats were implanted with E17-18 caudal tectum. After 2 to 9 months animals were sacrificed and sections reacted using antibodies for calbindin and parvalbumin. The central nucleus of normal inferior colliculus shows high density of neuronal and fiber staining for parvalbumin. Typical graft cores had similar staining distributions including discoid and stellate neuron populations. Graft cores showed low densities of reactivity for calbindin comparable to central nucleus. In surrounding graft regions there was substantive-neuronal and fiber labeling for calbindin and parvalbumin including stellate neuron populations normally found in the dorsal and lateral nuclei of inferior colliculus. These results demonstrate that the expression of calcium binding proteins in tectal grafts resembles that of inferior colliculus.

Animals↗

Rapid reduction in parvalbumin concentration during chronic stimulation of rabbit fast twitch muscle.

Chronic indirect stimulation of fast twitch rabbit muscle induced a rapid reduction in parvalbumin concentration. When compared to the unstimulated contralateral muscle, parvalbumins were reduced to 55% following 6 days of stimulation. Prolonged stimulation further reduced parvalbumins so that they were undetectable after 28 days. The time course of these changes appears to be related with the previously observed changes in the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Animals↗

Parvalbumin in rat kidney. Purification and localization.

The Ca2+-binding parvalbumin has been purified for the first time from rat kidney. Its biochemical and immunological properties were indistinguishable from the muscle counterpart. By immunohistochemical methods parvalbumin was localized in part of the distal tubule and proximal collecting duct, similar to the vitamin D-dependent Ca2+-binding protein, calbindin-28K. Parvalbumin was found to be independent of the vitamin D status of the animal since its concentration remained unchanged in kidney extracts of normal, rachitic and vitamin D-replete rats. Both proteins may be involved in the regulation of intracellular Ca2+ in kidney.

Animals↗

A calorimetric study of Ca2+ binding by the parvalbumin of the toad (Bufo): distinguishable binding sites in the molecule.

Microcalorimetric titrations of the major isotype of parvalbumin (tPA) from toad (Bufo) skeletal muscle, with Ca2+ in the presence and absence of Mg2+ and with Mg2+ in the absence of Ca2+, have been carried out at 25 degrees C and pH 7.0. The results indicate that the two binding sites in each molecule are distinguishable from each other for both Ca2+ binding and Mg2+ binding. Such a characteristic is distinctly different from those of other parvalbumins. The enthalpy changes determined are distinctly different from those of bullfrog parvalbumins on Ca2+ or Mg2+ binding, but are similar to those on Mg2+-Ca2+ exchange. The results indicate that the reaction of Mg2+-Ca2+ exchange is driven almost entirely by the large favorable enthalpy change.

Animals↗