The calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV) is a recognized marker of short-axon GABA-ergic neurons in the cortex and the hippocampus. However in addition, PV is expressed by excitatory, glutamatergic neurons in various areas of the brain and spinal cord. Depending on the location of these neurons, loading of their synaptic vesicles with glutamate is mediated by either of three vesicular glutamate transporters (VGlut): VGlut1, VGlut2, or VGlut3. Driven by our interest in one of these glutamatergic/PV-expressing cell clusters—the lateral hypothalamic parvafox nucleus—we investigated the functions of this population of neurons by the selective deletion of VGlut2 expression in PV-expressing cells according to the Cre/Lox-approach. PV-Cre;VGlut2-Lox mutant mice are phenotypically characterized by deficits in locomotion and vocalization, by a decreased thermal nociception, and by an increased social dominance. We conducted a search of the Allen Brain Atlas for regions that might co-express the genes encoding PV and VGlut2, and that might thus contribute to the manifestation of the observed phenotypes. Our survey revealed several structures that could contribute to the deficits in locomotion and vocalization, such as the red, the subthalamic and the deep cerebellar nuclei. It also disclosed that a shift in the balance of afferental glutamatergic neurotransmission to the periaqueductal gray matter might be accountable for the decrease in sensitivity to pain and for the increase in social dominance. As a whole, this study broadens the state of knowledge about PV-expressing excitatory neurons.
O presente estudo adota uma metodologia diferenciada de avaliação dos fundos setoriais e tem por objetivo realizar uma dissecção da dinâmica de funcionamento e dos impactos do CT-Info à luz do que está estabelecido como seu foco, que é fomentar projetos em empresas brasileiras do setor de informática. Para tanto, foi realizada uma investigação que buscou responder a três questões fundamentais: qual o perfil das empresas que obtiveram recursos concedidos pelo CT-Info? Como se desenvolveu a dinâmica de utilização desses recursos? Qual a motivação para que empresas recorram ou não ao instrumento? Por um lado, os resultados apontam para uma captura do instrumento pelo complexo acadêmico-universitário. Por outro, para as poucas empresas beneficiárias, apesar das dificuldades burocráticas, os resultados obtidos foram muito expressivos.
PALAVRAS-CHAVE:
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.