Parvalbumin in rat cerebrum, cerebellum and retina during postnatal development.

Radioimmunoassay and immunohistochemical studies were performed on the occurrence and distribution of parvalbumin-like immunoreactivity (PA-LI) in developing rat cerebrum, cerebellum and retina. No PA-LI was detected in the nervous tissues of the newborn animals. In the cerebrum, the PA-LI appeared in non-pyramidal neurons at the 2nd postnatal week and increased linearly until the 8th week. In the cerebellum, a rapid increase in the PA-LI took place at the 2nd week, with an enrichment of the antigen to Purkinje neurons. In the retina, amacrine cells contained PA-LI, the levels of which increased from the 2nd to 4th week. Regulation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration may be one of the important factors for the maturation of the central nervous system.