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.
Dysfunction of prefrontal parvalbumin (PV+) interneurons has been linked with severe cognitive deficits as observed in several neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia.
Mouse dysbindin genetic defects and other mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders share defective GABAergic neurotransmission and, in several instances, a loss of parvalbumin-positive interneuron phenotypes.