biocytin-recovery-3d-reconstructions-filled-hippocampal-ca2

Biocytin Recovery and 3D Reconstructions of Filled Hippocampal CA2 Interneurons

How cortical network activity processes information is of importance to a large number of basic and clinical scientific questions. The protocol described ...

University College London (UCL)

gamma-Aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptors, a family of Cl(-)-permeable ion channels, mediate fast synaptic inhibition as postsynaptically enriched receptors for gamma-aminobutyric acid at GABAergic synapses. Here we describe an alternative type of inhibition mediated by GABA(A) receptors present on neocortical glutamatergic nerve terminals and examine the underlying signaling mechanism(s). By monitoring the activity of the presynaptic CaM kinase II/synapsin I signaling pathway in isolated nerve terminals, we demonstrate that GABA(A) receptor activation correlated with an increase in basal intraterminal [Ca(2+)](i). Interestingly, this activation of GABA(A) receptors resulted in a reduction of subsequent depolarization-evoked Ca(2+) influx, which thereby led to an inhibition of glutamate release. To investigate how the observed GABA(A) receptor-mediated modulation operates, we determined the sensitivity of this process to the Na-K-2Cl cotransporter 1 antagonist bumetanide, as well as substitution of Ca(2+) with Ba(2+), or Ca(2+)/calmodulin inhibition by W7. All of these treatments abolished the modulation by GABA(A) receptors. Application of selective antagonists of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels (VGCCs) revealed that the GABA(A) receptor-mediated modulation of glutamate release required the specific activity of L- and R-type VGCCs. Crucially, the inhibition of release by these receptors was abolished in terminals isolated from R-type VGCC knock-out mice. Together, our results indicate that a functional coupling between nerve terminal GABA(A) receptors and L- or R-type VGCCs is mediated by Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent signaling. This mechanism provides a GABA-mediated control of glutamatergic synaptic activity by a direct inhibition of glutamate release.

Nerve Terminal GABAA Receptors Activate Ca2+/Calmodulin-dependent Signaling to Inhibit Voltage-gated Ca2+ Influx and Glutamate Release.

Gap junctions between inhibitory neurones in cortical regions have been well documented over the years. However, although the presence of electrical coupling between pyramidal cells has been supported by dye-coupling and recordings of fast prepotentials called 'spikelets', direct evidence for such coupling remains sparse. Electrical coupling between pyramids has however been shown to play a significant role in oscillatory network activity, spatial exploration and learning and memory and full characterization of these synapses are overdue. In this review, an overview of the known properties of these electrical synapses is given, focusing on a study in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Electrical Synapses.

Electrically coupled excitatory neurones in cortical regions.

The mechanisms that underlie the selection of an inhibitory GABAergic axon's postsynaptic targets and the formation of the first contacts are currently unknown. To determine whether expression of GABAA receptors (GABAA Rs) themselves--the essential functional postsynaptic components of GABAergic synapses--can be sufficient to initiate formation of synaptic contacts, a novel co-culture system was devised. In this system, the presynaptic GABAergic axons originated from embryonic rat basal ganglia medium spiny neurones, whereas their most prevalent postsynaptic targets, i.e., α1/β2/γ2-GABAA Rs, were expressed constitutively in a stably transfected human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cell line. The first synapse-like contacts in these co-cultures were detected by colocalization of presynaptic and postsynaptic markers within 2 h. The number of contacts reached a plateau at 24 h. These contacts were stable, as assessed by live cell imaging; they were active, as determined by uptake of a fluorescently labelled synaptotagmin vesicle-luminal domain-specific antibody; and they supported spontaneous and action potential-driven postsynaptic GABAergic currents. Ultrastructural analysis confirmed the presence of characteristics typical of active synapses. Synapse formation was not observed with control or N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor-expressing HEK293 cells. A prominent increase in synapse formation and strength was observed when neuroligin-2 was co-expressed with GABAA Rs, suggesting a cooperative relationship between these proteins. Thus, in addition to fulfilling an essential functional role, postsynaptic GABAA Rs can promote the adhesion of inhibitory axons and the development of functional synapses.

GABA(A) receptors can initiate the formation of functional inhibitory GABAergic synapses.

The CA2 region of the mammalian hippocampus is a unique region with its own distinctive properties, inputs and pathologies. Disruption of inhibitory circuits in this region appears to be linked with the pathology of specific psychiatric disorders, promoting interest in its local circuitry, its role in hippocampal function and its dysfunction in disease. In previous studies, CA2 interneurons, including a novel subclass of CA2 dendrite-preferring interneurons that has not been identified in other CA regions, have been shown to display physiological, synaptic and morphological properties unique to this sub-field and may therefore play a crucial role in the hippocampal circuitry. The distributions of immuno-labeled interneurons in dorsal CA2 were studied and compared with those of interneurons in CA1 and CA3. Like those in CA1 and CA3, the somata of CA2 parvalbumin-immunoperoxidase-labeled interneurons were located primarily in Stratum Pyramidale (SP) and Stratum Oriens (SO), with very few cells in Stratum Radiatum (SR) and none in Stratum Lacunosum Moleculare (SLM). There was, however, a greater proportion of GAD-positive cells were immunopositive for PV in SP in CA2 than in CA1 or CA3. CA2 SP also contained a larger density of somatostatin-, calbindin-, and VIP-immunopositive somata than CA1 and/or CA3. Like those in CA1 and CA3, CCK-immunopositive somata in CA2 were mostly located in SR. Reelin- and NPY- immunolabeled cell bodies were located in all layers of the three CA regions. However, a higher density of Reelin-positive somata was found in SP and SR of CA2 than in CA1 or CA3.

Distribution of interneurons in the CA2 region of the rat hippocampus.

The establishment of cell-cell contacts between presynaptic GABAergic neurons and their postsynaptic targets initiates the process of GABAergic synapse formation. GABAA receptors (GABAARs), the main postsynaptic receptors for GABA, have been recently demonstrated to act as synaptogenic proteins that can single-handedly induce the formation and functional maturation of inhibitory synapses. To establish how the subunit composition of GABAARs influences their ability to induce synaptogenesis, a co-culture model system incorporating GABAergic medium spiny neurons and the HEK293 cells, stably expressing different combinations of receptor subunits, was developed. Analyses of HEK293 cell innervation by medium spiny neuron axons using immunocytochemistry, activity-dependent labeling, and electrophysiology have indicated that the γ2 subunit is required for the formation of active synapses and that its effects are influenced by the type of α/β subunits incorporated into the functional receptor. To further characterize this process, the large N-terminal extracellular domains (ECDs) of α1, α2, β2, and γ2 subunits were purified using the baculovirus/Sf9 cell system. When these proteins were applied to the co-cultures of MSNs and α1/β2/γ2-expressing HEK293 cells, the α1, β2, or γ2 ECD each caused a significant reduction in contact formation, in contrast to the α2 ECD, which had no effect. Together, our experiments indicate that the structural role of GABAARs in synaptic contact formation is determined by their subunit composition, with the N-terminal ECDs of each of the subunits directly participating in interactions between the presynaptic and postsynaptic elements, suggesting the these interactions are multivalent and specific.

γ-Aminobutyric Acid Type A (GABAA) Receptor Subunits Play a Direct Structural Role in Synaptic Contact Formation via Their N-terminal Extracellular Domains.

Studying neocortex and hippocampus in parallel, we are struck by the similarities. All three to four layered allocortices and the six layered mammalian neocortex arise in the pallium. All receive and integrate multiple cortical and subcortical inputs, provide multiple outputs and include an array of neuronal classes. During development, each cell positions itself to sample appropriate local and distant inputs and to innervate appropriate targets. Simpler cortices had already solved the need to transform multiple coincident inputs into serviceable outputs before neocortex appeared in mammals. Why then do phylogenetically more recent cortices need multiple pyramidal cell layers? A simple answer is that more neurones can compute more complex functions. The dentate gyrus and hippocampal CA regions-which might be seen as hippocampal antecedents of neocortical layers-lie side by side, albeit around a tight bend. Were the millions of cells of rat neocortex arranged in like fashion, the surface area of the CA pyramidal cell layers would be some 40 times larger. Even if evolution had managed to fold this immense sheet into the space available, the distances between neurones that needed to be synaptically connected would be huge and to maintain the speed of information transfer, massive, myelinated fiber tracts would be needed. How much more practical to stack the "cells that fire and wire together" into narrow columns, while retaining the mechanisms underlying the extraordinary precision with which circuits form. This demonstrably efficient arrangement presents us with challenges, however, not the least being to categorize the baffling array of neuronal subtypes in each of five "pyramidal layers." If we imagine the puzzle posed by this bewildering jumble of apical dendrites, basal dendrites and axons, from many different pyramidal and interneuronal classes, that is encountered by a late-arriving interneurone insinuating itself into a functional circuit, we can perhaps begin to understand why definitive classification, covering every aspect of each neurone's structure and function, is such a challenge. Here, we summarize and compare the development of these two cortices, the properties of their neurones, the circuits they form and the ordered, unidirectional flow of information from one hippocampal region, or one neocortical layer, to another.

Cornu Ammonis Regions-Antecedents of Cortical Layers?

Every neuron is part of a network, exerting its function by transforming multiple spatiotemporal synaptic input patterns into a single spiking output. This function is specified by the particular shape and passive electrical properties of the neuronal membrane, and the composition and spatial distribution of ion channels across its processes. For a variety of physiological or pathological reasons, the intrinsic input/output function may change during a neuron's lifetime. This process results in high variability in the peak specific conductance of ion channels in individual neurons. The mechanisms responsible for this variability are not well understood, although there are clear indications from experiments and modeling that degeneracy and correlation among multiple channels may be involved. Here, we studied this issue in biophysical models of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons and interneurons. Using a unified data-driven simulation workflow and starting from a set of experimental recordings and morphological reconstructions obtained from rats, we built and analyzed several ensembles of morphologically and biophysically accurate single cell models with intrinsic electrophysiological properties consistent with experimental findings. The results suggest that the set of conductances expressed in any given hippocampal neuron may be considered as belonging to two groups: one subset is responsible for the major characteristics of the firing behavior in each population and the other is responsible for a robust degeneracy. Analysis of the model neurons suggests several experimentally testable predictions related to the combination and relative proportion of the different conductances that should be expressed on the membrane of different types of neurons for them to fulfill their role in the hippocampus circuitry.

The physiological variability of channel density in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells and interneurons explored using a unified data-driven modeling workflow.

Article	Year
Nerve Terminal GABAA Receptors Activate Ca2+/Calmodulin-dependent Signaling to Inhibit Voltage-gated Ca2+ Influx and Glutamate Release. The Journal of biological chemistry\| PubMed ID: 19141616	2009
Electrically coupled excitatory neurones in cortical regions. Brain research\| PubMed ID: 22771395	2012
GABA(A) receptors can initiate the formation of functional inhibitory GABAergic synapses. The European journal of neuroscience\| PubMed ID: 23909897	2013
Distribution of interneurons in the CA2 region of the rat hippocampus. Frontiers in neuroanatomy\| PubMed ID: 25309345	2014
γ-Aminobutyric Acid Type A (GABAA) Receptor Subunits Play a Direct Structural Role in Synaptic Contact Formation via Their N-terminal Extracellular Domains. The Journal of biological chemistry\| PubMed ID: 27129275	2016
Cornu Ammonis Regions-Antecedents of Cortical Layers? Frontiers in neuroanatomy\| PubMed ID: 29018334	2017
The physiological variability of channel density in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells and interneurons explored using a unified data-driven modeling workflow. PLoS computational biology\| PubMed ID: 30222740	2018

Audrey Mercer

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