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Spontaneous Ultraslow Na<sup>+</sup> Fluctuations in the Neonatal Mouse Brain
oleh: Lisa Felix, Daniel Ziemens, Gerald Seifert, Christine R. Rose
| Format: | Article |
|---|---|
| Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2019-12-01 |
Deskripsi
In the neonate forebrain, network formation is driven by the spontaneous synchronized activity of pyramidal cells and interneurons, consisting of bursts of electrical activity and intracellular Ca<sup>2+</sup> oscillations. By employing ratiometric Na<sup>+</sup> imaging in tissue slices obtained from animals at postnatal day 2−4 (P2−4), we found that 20% of pyramidal neurons and 44% of astrocytes in neonatal mouse hippocampus also exhibit transient fluctuations in intracellular Na<sup>+</sup>. These occurred at very low frequencies (~2/h), were exceptionally long (~8 min), and strongly declined after the first postnatal week. Similar Na<sup>+</sup> fluctuations were also observed in the neonate neocortex. In the hippocampus, Na<sup>+</sup> elevations in both cell types were diminished when blocking action potential generation with tetrodotoxin. Neuronal Na<sup>+</sup> fluctuations were significantly reduced by bicuculline, suggesting the involvement of GABA<sub>A</sub>-receptors in their generation. Astrocytic signals, by contrast, were neither blocked by inhibition of receptors and/or transporters for different transmitters including GABA and glutamate, nor of various Na<sup>+</sup>-dependent transporters or Na<sup>+</sup>-permeable channels. In summary, our results demonstrate for the first time that neonatal astrocytes and neurons display spontaneous ultraslow Na<sup>+</sup> fluctuations. While neuronal Na<sup>+</sup> signals apparently largely rely on suprathreshold GABAergic excitation, astrocytic Na<sup>+</sup> signals, albeit being dependent on neuronal action potentials, appear to have a separate trigger and mechanism, the source of which remains unclear at present.