Publication Date:
2010-03-06
Description:
The concept that astrocytes release neuroactive molecules (gliotransmitters) to affect synaptic transmission has been a paradigm shift in neuroscience research over the past decade. This concept suggests that astrocytes, together with pre- and postsynaptic neuronal elements, make up a functional synapse. Astrocyte release of gliotransmitters (for example, glutamate and adenosine triphosphate) is generally accepted to be a Ca2+-dependent process. We used two mouse lines to either selectively increase or obliterate astrocytic Gq G protein-coupled receptor Ca2+ signaling to further test the hypothesis that astrocytes release gliotransmitters in a Ca2+-dependent manner to affect synaptic transmission. Neither increasing nor obliterating astrocytic Ca2+ fluxes affects spontaneous and evoked excitatory synaptic transmission or synaptic plasticity. Our findings suggest that, at least in the hippocampus, the mechanisms of gliotransmission need to be reconsidered.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Agulhon, Cendra -- Fiacco, Todd A -- McCarthy, Ken D -- NS020212/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- NS033938/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- R01 NS020212/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2010 Mar 5;327(5970):1250-4. doi: 10.1126/science.1184821.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Genetic Medicine Building, CB 7365, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. cendra_agulhon@med.unc.edu〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20203048" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Animals
;
Astrocytes/*metabolism
;
CA1 Region, Hippocampal/cytology/*physiology
;
Calcium/*metabolism
;
*Calcium Signaling
;
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials
;
GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gq-G11/metabolism
;
In Vitro Techniques
;
*Long-Term Potentiation
;
Mice
;
Mice, Inbred C57BL
;
Mice, Knockout
;
N-Methylaspartate/metabolism
;
*Neuronal Plasticity
;
Neurons/physiology
;
Neurotransmitter Agents/metabolism
;
Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/genetics/metabolism
;
*Synaptic Transmission
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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