Because PV protein and PVALB transcript levels were found to be lower in the brain of patients with autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia, the novel transgenic mouse line might serve as a model to investigate the putative role of PV in these neurodevelopmental disorders.
Considering that Cntnap2 shows high expression levels in the striatum during human and mouse embryonic development and that the cortico-striato-thalamic circuitry is important for speech and language development, alterations in striatal PV expression and associated (homeostatic) adaptations are likely to play an important role in <i>Cntnap2-/-</i> mice and, assumingly, in human ASD patients with known Cntnap2 mutations.
Recent findings suggest that one putative convergent pathway for some forms of ASD might be the downregulation of the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV).
These findings indicate that elevated MMP-9 levels contribute to the development of sensory hypersensitivity by influencing formation of PNNs around PV interneurons suggesting MMP-9 as a new therapeutic target to reduce sensory deficits in FXS and potentially other autism spectrum disorders.
Interneurons of the striatum, including the parvalbumin-expressing fast-spiking interneurons (FSIs) and the large cholinergic interneurons (CINs), are affected in patients with TS and in preclinical models of both ASD and TS.
Alterations in parvalbumin interneurons (PV neurons) and perineuronal nets (PNNs) within the PFC have been implicated in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder pathology.