Decreased parvalbumin and somatostatin neurons in medial prefrontal cortex in BRINP1-KO mice

In the present study, to clarify the physiological roles of BRINP1 in psychiatric disorders, we examined the numbers of parvalbumin (PV)-expressing neurons and somatostatin (SST)-expressing neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in BRINP1-KO mice. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed the numbers of PV-expressing neurons and SST-expressing neurons in mPFC of BRINP1-KO mice were, respectively, 50% and 20% fewer than corresponding neurons in mPFC of wild-type mice. These data suggest that the abnormal behaviors related to human psychiatric disorders in BRINP1-KO mice could be derived from the hyperexcitability of pyramidal neurons as a consequence of decreased inhibitory innervation and conceivable dysregulation of the Excitatory/Inhibitory balance in mPFC.