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How the 'slow' Ca2+ buffer parvalbumin affects transmitter release in nanodomain-coupling regimes

Abstract

Parvalbumin is thought to act in a manner similar to EGTA, but how a slow Ca2+ buffer affects nanodomain-coupling regimes at GABAergic synapses is unclear. Direct measurements of parvalbumin concentration and paired recordings in rodent hippocampus and cerebellum revealed that parvalbumin affects synaptic dynamics only when expressed at high levels. Modeling suggests that, in high concentrations, parvalbumin may exert BAPTA-like effects, modulating nanodomain coupling via competition with local saturation of endogenous fixed buffers.

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Figure 1: Cell-specific differences in somatic parvalbumin concentration correlate with synapse-specific effects on synaptic dynamics.
Figure 2: Parvalbumin may have fast effects and regulate synaptic dynamics by shunting of local buffer saturation.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

E.E. carried out the experiments and P.J. performed the modeling. E.E. and P.J. analyzed the data and wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Peter Jonas.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Supplementary Figures 1–14 and Supplementary Methods (PDF 1122 kb)

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Eggermann, E., Jonas, P. How the 'slow' Ca2+ buffer parvalbumin affects transmitter release in nanodomain-coupling regimes. Nat Neurosci 15, 20–22 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3002

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