title: Age-related changes in parvalbumin- and GABA-immunoreactive cells in the rat septum.
abstract: The calcium binding protein parvalbumin is present in GABAergic neurons of the medial septum-diagonal band of Broca (MS-DBB) region that project to the hippocampal formation. We examined the distribution pattern, the number, and the morphological features of the parvalbumin-containing cells (parv+) in the MS-DBB region of 2- to 3-, 8- to 9-, 15- to 16-, and 26- to 27-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats. A significant reduction in the number of parv+ cells was observed as a function of age. The mean somal area of the parv+ cells was significantly reduced in the 26- to 27-month-old rats. A significant reduction in the number of parv+ cells was also observed in the 26- to 27-month-old rats in the cingulate cortex, but not in the striatum or the hippocampal formation. No significant age-related changes were observed in the number of the GABA-immunoreactive cells in the MS-DBB region nor in the cingulate cortex. In conclusion, there is an age-related decrease in the number of parv+ cells, with no change in the number of GABA-immunoreactive cells in the MS-DBB region of the rat. Because GABA and parvalbumin are colocalized in the MS-DBB neurons, the results suggest that the level of parvalbumin is decreased, but that the cells are not lost.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, Unité 161, Paris, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Krzywkowski
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Bilbao
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Senut
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lamour
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D064026:Calbindins; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D010320:Parvalbumins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G / Q000378:metabolism; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D064026:Calbindins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D010320:Parvalbumins; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid