Project description:The nervous system has a tremendous capacity for experience-dependent plasticity. In response to changes in activity induced by environmental cues, many types of neurons undergo a process known as homeostatic plasticity, which serves to maintain overall network function in the face of mounting experience-dependent changes in synaptic strengths. Homeostatic plasticity involves both changes in synaptic scaling and regulation of intrinsic excitability. Increases in spontaneous firing and excitability of sensory neurons are evident in some forms of chronic pain in both animal models and in human patients. However, it is not known whether homeostatic plasticity is engaged in sensory neurons under normal conditions or whether dysfunction in these homeostatic mechanisms might contribute to the pathophysiology of chronic pain. To address these questions, we tested the impact of sustained depolarization on various measures of excitability in mouse and human sensory neurons. Depolarization induced by 30mM KCl induces a compensatory decrease in the excitability of both mouse and human sensory neurons. Moreover, we also find that voltage-gated sodium currents are robustly inhibited in mouse sensory neurons after chronic depolarization, thus contributing to the overall decrease in neuronal excitability and serving as a potential regulatory mechanism to drive intrinsic neuronal homeostatic control. Our results indicate that mouse and human sensory neurons undergo homeostatic regulation of intrinsic excitability in response to sustained depolarization. Decreased efficacy of these homeostatic mechanisms could potentially contribute to the development of pathological conditions, including chronic pain.
Project description:Structural, functional, and molecular reorganization of denervated neural networks is often observed in neurological conditions. The loss of input is accompanied by homeostatic synaptic adaptations, which can affect the reorganization of denervated networks. However, a major challenge of denervation-induced homeostatic plasticity operating in complex neural networks is the specialization of neuronal inputs. Therefore, it remains unclear whether neurons respond similarly to the loss of distinct inputs. Here, we used in vitro entorhinal cortex lesion (ECL) and Schaffer collateral lesion (SCL) in mouse organotypic entorhino-hippocampal tissue cultures of either sex, and studied denervation-induced plasticity of CA1 pyramidal neurons. We observed accumulation of microglia, degeneration of presynaptic buttons and a reduction in dendritic spine numbers in the denervated layers three days after SCL and ECL, respectively. Transcriptome analysis of the CA1 region showed complex changes in differential gene expression following SCL and ECL compared to non-lesioned controls. An enrichment of differentially expressed synapse-related genes was observed specifically after ECL. Consistent with this finding, denervation-induced homeostatic plasticity of excitatory synapses was observed three days after ECL but not after SCL. Chemogenetic silencing of the EC but not CA3 confirmed the pathway-specific induction of homeostatic synaptic plasticity in CA1. Moreover, increased RNA oxidation was observed after SCL and ECL. These results reveal important commonalities and differences of distinct pathway lesions, and demonstrate a pathway-specific induction of denervation-induced homeostatic synaptic plasticity.
Project description:Synaptic scaling is a form of homeostatic plasticity which allows neurons to adjust their action potential firing rate in response to chronic alterations in neural activity. Synaptic scaling requires profound changes in gene expression, but the relative contribution of local and cell-wide mechanisms is controversial. Here we performed a comprehensive multi-omics characterization of the somatic and process compartments of primary rat hippocampal neurons during synaptic scaling. Thereby, we uncovered highly compartment-specific and correlated changes in the neuronal transcriptome and proteome. Specifically, we identified highly compartment-specific downregulation of crucial regulators of neuronal excitability and excitatory synapse structure. Motif analysis further suggests an important role for trans-acting post-transcriptional regulators, including RNA-binding proteins and microRNAs, in the local regulation of the corresponding mRNAs. Altogether, our study indicates that compartmentalized gene expression changes are widespread in synaptic scaling and might co-exist with neuron-wide mechanisms to allow synaptic computation and homeostasis
Project description:Using quantitative proteomics we identified group of synaptic genes with decreased protein synthesis during homeostatic plasticity. To obtain further information about their mRNA levels/sequences (3’UTR) we performed polyA RNAseq. Using EISA analysis of Ribominus RNAseq dataset we could further differentiate between transcriptional respective post-transcriptional dependent alterations in mRNA levels. In addition Ribominus RNAseq from cell body and processes (dendrites, axons) RNA samples showed us local changes in mRNA levels during homeostatic plasticity. At the end, small RNAseq helped us to identify miRNAs that are increased during homeostatic plasticity and might regulate downregulated genes.
Project description:Hippocampal synaptic plasticity is important for learning and memory formation. Homeostatic synaptic plasticity is a specific form of synaptic plasticity that is induced upon prolonged changes in neuronal activity to maintain network homeostasis. While astrocytes are important regulators of synaptic transmission and plasticity, it is largely unclear how they interact with neurons to regulate synaptic plasticity at the circuit level. Here, we show that neuronal activity blockade selectively increases the expression and secretion of IL-33 (interleukin-33) by astrocytes in the hippocampal cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) subregion. This IL-33 stimulates an increase in excitatory synapses and neurotransmission through the activation of neuronal IL-33 receptor complex and synaptic recruitment of the scaffold protein PSD-95. We found that acute administration of tetrodotoxin in hippocampal slices or inhibition of hippocampal CA1 excitatory neurons by optogenetic manipulation increases IL-33 expression in CA1 astrocytes. Furthermore, IL-33 administration in vivo promotes the formation of functional excitatory synapses in hippocampal CA1 neurons, whereas conditional knockout of IL-33 in CA1 astrocytes decreases the number of excitatory synapses therein. Importantly, blockade of IL-33 and its receptor signaling in vivo by intracerebroventricular administration of its decoy receptor inhibits homeostatic synaptic plasticity in CA1 pyramidal neurons and impairs spatial memory formation in mice. These results collectively reveal an important role of astrocytic IL-33 in mediating the negative-feedback signaling mechanism in homeostatic synaptic plasticity, providing insights into how astrocytes maintain hippocampal network homeostasis.
Project description:Homeostatic synaptic plasticity serves to maintain neuronal function within a dynamic range, compensating for perturbations in network activity. While coordinated structural and functional changes at synaptic sites play a crucial role in adaptive processes, the specific regulatory mechanisms and biological relevance of homeostatic plasticity in the human brain warrant further investigation. In this study, we investigated the effects of neural network silencing, achieved through pharmacological inhibition of voltage-gated sodium channels or glutamatergic neurotransmission – common targets of antiepileptic medication – on functional and structural properties of murine and human cortical tissue. Using mouse entorhino-hippocampal tissue cultures, acute slices of adult mice, and human brain tissue, we characterize homeostatic synaptic plasticity across models, brain regions, and species. Our findings demonstrate local homeostatic synaptic plasticity in the adult human neocortex, highlighting the potential effects of antiepileptic medication in brain regions unaffected by the primary diseases, which might represent a mechanism for neuropsychiatric effects linked to these medications and increased seizure susceptibility upon discontinuation of antiepileptic medication.
Project description:RNA-seq libraries purified from the visual cortices of neurons expressing Emx-, GAD2-, PV-, SST-, or VIP-Cre using the Ribotag allele. Seq libraries are provided from mice raised in standard housing, or housed in the dark for two weeks (dark-housed), or dark-housed and then exposed to light for 1, 3, or 7.5 hours. These seq libraries represent the genetic response of distinct types of cortical interneurons to altered sensory experience. To explore how sensory experience affects gene expression, we examined this process in the visual cortex of adult mice that were housed in standard conditions, in complete darkness (i.e. dark-housed), or dark-housed and then exposed to light for increasing amounts of time. We generated mice that were heterozygous for alleles of either Emx-,Gad2-,Sst-,Vip- or Pv-Cre, and were also heterozygous for the Rpl22-HA (RiboTag) allele, which expresses an HA-tagged ribosomal protein specifically in Cre-expressing neurons. We performed RNA-Seq on RNA isolated from the dark-housed/light-exposed RiboTag-mice; Experiments were done in 3 biological replicates and the visual cortices of 3 mice were pooled per sample at each time-point and for each Cre line.