Differential Ca2+ binding properties in the human cerebellar cortex: distribution of parvalbumin and calbindin D-28k immunoreactivity.

The distribution of the Ca(2+)-binding proteins parvalbumin (PV) and calbindin D-28k (CaBP) was investigated in the human cerebellar cortex. Purkinje cells contain both PV and CaBP. PV but not CaBP stains stellate and basket cells in the molecular layer. In the granular layer Golgi neurons can be subdivided into a majority, devoid of both Ca(2+)-binding proteins, and a scanty population which appears to be PV- and CaBP-immunoreactive. Thus GABAergic neurons in the human cerebellar cortex show selective differences in their Ca(2+)-binding properties, and these differences might reflect a heterogeneity in the processing of Ca(2+)-mediated events.