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TRPC3 and NALCN channels drive pacemaking in substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons.

ABSTRACT: Midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons are slow pacemakers that maintain extracellular DA levels. During the interspike intervals, subthreshold slow depolarization underlies autonomous pacemaking and determines its rate. However, the ion channels that determine slow depolarization are unknown. Here we show that TRPC3 and NALCN channels together form sustained inward currents responsible for the slow depolarization of nigral DA neurons. Specific TRPC3 channel blockade completely blocked DA neuron pacemaking, but the pacemaking activity in TRPC3 knock-out (KO) mice was perfectly normal, suggesting the presence of compensating ion channels. Blocking NALCN channels abolished pacemaking in both TRPC3 KO and wild-type mice. The NALCN current and mRNA and protein expression are increased in TRPC3 KO mice, indicating that NALCN compensates for TRPC3 currents. In normal conditions, TRPC3 and NALCN contribute equally to slow depolarization. Therefore, we conclude that TRPC3 and NALCN are two major leak channels that drive robust pacemaking in nigral DA neurons.

SUBMITTER: Um KB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8456572 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Dopamine-releasing neurons within the Substantia nigra (SN DA) are particularly vulnerable to degeneration compared to other dopaminergic neurons. The age-dependent, progressive loss of these neurons is a pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD), as the resulting loss of striatal dopamine causes its major movement-related symptoms. SN DA neurons release dopamine from their axonal terminals within the dorsal striatum, and also from their cell bodies and dendrites within the midbrain in a calcium- and activity-dependent manner. Their intrinsically generated and metabolically challenging activity is created and modulated by the orchestrated function of different ion channels and dopamine D2-autoreceptors. Here, we review increasing evidence that the mechanisms that control activity patterns and calcium homeostasis of SN DA neurons are not only crucial for their dopamine release within a physiological range but also modulate their mitochondrial and lysosomal activity, their metabolic stress levels, and their vulnerability to degeneration in PD. Indeed, impaired calcium homeostasis, lysosomal and mitochondrial dysfunction, and metabolic stress in SN DA neurons represent central converging trigger factors for idiopathic and familial PD. We summarize double-edged roles of ion channels, activity patterns, calcium homeostasis, and related feedback/feed-forward signaling mechanisms in SN DA neurons for maintaining and modulating their physiological function, but also for contributing to their vulnerability in PD-paradigms. We focus on the emerging roles of maintained neuronal activity and calcium homeostasis within a physiological bandwidth, and its modulation by PD-triggers, as well as on bidirectional functions of voltage-gated L-type calcium channels and metabolically gated ATP-sensitive potassium (K-ATP) channels, and their probable interplay in health and PD. We propose that SN DA neurons possess several feedback and feed-forward mechanisms to protect and adapt their activity-pattern and calcium-homeostasis within a physiological bandwidth, and that PD-trigger factors can narrow this bandwidth. We summarize roles of ion channels in this view, and findings documenting that both, reduced as well as elevated activity and associated calcium-levels can trigger SN DA degeneration. This article is part of a special issue on Parkinson disease.

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TRPC3 and NALCN channels drive pacemaking in substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons.

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