兴奋性突触传入对皮层神经元形态发育的影响

目的:探讨离子型谷氨酸受体中的AMPA受体(α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate receptor, AMPA受体)和NMDA受体(N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor)对抑制性中间神经元以及兴奋性神经元的形态发育的影响。方法:采用原代培养皮层神经元,通过药物干预AMPA受体和/或NMDA受体的方法阻断神经元的离子型谷氨酸受体,并采用GAD67-GFP鼠的绿色荧光来显示混合细胞群中抑制性神经元、CaMKII免疫荧光染色显示兴奋性神经元。结果:当阻断AMPA和/或NMDA受体时,光镜下显示神经元网络的密度降低,且随着药物浓度的增加,神经元网络的变化更明显。对于GFP阳性的抑制性神经元,当阻断AMPA受体时,神经元突起分支数降低至对照组的约65%(低浓度)和55%(高浓度),突起长度缩短至对照组的大约43%(低浓度)和36%(高浓度);当阻断NMDA受体时,分支数降低至约70%(低浓度)和45%(高浓度),长度缩短至约43%(低浓度)和31%(高浓度);联合用药时,分支数和长度分别为对照的约42%和38%。对于CaMKII阳性的兴奋性神经元,尽管变化程度稍弱,但其形态也出现类似变化。当阻断AMPA受体时,神经元的分支数降低至对照组的64%(高浓度),突起长度变化不大;当阻断NMDA受体时,分支数降低至约50%(高浓度),长度缩短至约77%(低浓度)和71%(高浓度);联合用药时,分支数和长度分别为对照的约69%和62%。结论:在神经元发育的过程中,离子型谷氨酸受体介导的兴奋性突触传入可影响抑制性神经元和兴奋性神经元的形态发育,最终对神经环路的形成发挥重要的调控作用。     

CNS midline cells are required for establishment and differentiation of Drosophila MP2 interneurons

The Drosophila CNS develops from the ventral neuroectoderm (VNE) on both sides of the midline along the dorsoventral axis. During early neurogenesis, three homeodomain and Egfr signaling genes are required for the dorsoventral patterning of the VNE. However, the roles of CNS midline cells in patterning of the specific neural lineages are not well understood. Their roles in identity determination and differentiation of the well-established MP2 lineage were studied using several molecular markers. We showed that these cells are essential for identity determination of the MP2 lineage that originates from the VNE. The midline cells and the Egfr signaling genes were also required for the proper maintenance of MP2 and the correct formation of MP2 axonal pathways. Overexpression of sim in the midline cells activated ectopic expression of MP2 markers in the VNE. This analysis suggests that CNS midline cells and Egfr signaling genes play essential roles in the proper establishment and differentiation of the MP2 lineage.     

OLIG2 Drives Abnormal Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes in Human iPSC-Based Organoid and Chimeric Mouse Models of Down Syndrome

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ACKR3 Regulation of Neuronal Migration Requires ACKR3 Phosphorylation,but Not β-Arrestin

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A Guide to In vivo Single-unit Recording from Optogenetically Identified Cortical Inhibitory Interneurons

A major challenge in neurophysiology has been to characterize the response properties and function of the numerous inhibitory cell types in the cerebral cortex.We here share our strategy for obtaining stable, well-isolated single-unit recordings from identified inhibitory interneurons in the anesthetized mouse cortex using a method developed by Lima and colleagues¹. Recordings are performed in mice expressing Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in specific neuronal subpopulations. Members of the population are identified by their response to a brief flash of blue light. This technique – termed “PINP”, or Photostimulation-assisted Identification of Neuronal Populations – can be implemented with standard extracellular recording equipment. It can serve as an inexpensive and accessible alternative to calcium imaging or visually-guided patching, for the purpose of targeting extracellular recordings to genetically-identified cells. Here we provide a set of guidelines for optimizing the method in everyday practice. We refined our strategy specifically for targeting parvalbumin-positive (PV+) cells, but have found that it works for other interneuron types as well, such as somatostatin-expressing (SOM+) and calretinin-expressing (CR+) interneurons.     

Evidences for tangential migrations in Xenopus telencephalon: developmental patterns and cell tracking experiments

Extensive tangential cell migrations have been described in the developing mammalian, avian, and reptilian forebrain, and they are viewed as a powerful developmental mechanism to increase neuronal complexity in a given brain structure. Here, we report for the first time anatomical and cell tracking evidence for the presence of important migratory processes in the developing forebrain of the anamniote Xenopus laevis. Combining developmental gene expression patterns (Pax6, Nkx2.1, Isl1, Lhx5, Lhx9, and Dll3), neurotransmitter identity (GABA, NOS, ChAT), and connectivity information, several types of putative migratory cell populations and migration routes originating in the ventral pallium and the subpallium are proposed. By means of in vivo cell tracking experiments, pallio-subpallial and subpallio-pallial migrating neurons are visualized. Among them, populations of Nkx2.1(+) striatal interneurons and pallial GABAergic interneurons, which also express the migratory marker doublecortin, are identified. Finally, we find that these tangentially migrating pallial interneurons travel through an "isl1-free channel" that may guide their course through the subpallium. Our findings strongly suggest that the developing Xenopus telencephalon shares many similarities with amniotes in terms of neuronal specification and migrations. However, some differences are discussed, particularly with regard to the evolution of the pallium.     

Excitatory and inhibitory neuron imbalance in the intrauterine growth restricted fetal guinea pig brain: Relevance to the developmental origins of schizophrenia and autism

Neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism are thought to involve an imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory signaling in the brain. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a risk factor for these disorders, with IUGR onset occurring during critical periods of neurodevelopment. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of IUGR on excitatory and inhibitory neurons of the fetal neocortex and hippocampus. Fetal brains (n = 2) were first collected from an unoperated pregnant guinea pig at mid-gestation (32 days of gestation [dg]; term ∼67 dg) to visualize excitatory (Ctip2) and inhibitory (calretinin [CR] and somatostatin [SST]) neurons via immunohistochemistry. Chronic placental insufficiency (CPI) was then induced via radial artery ablation at 30 dg in another cohort of pregnant guinea pigs (n = 8) to generate IUGR fetuses (52 dg; n = 8); control fetuses (52 dg; n = 7) were from sham surgeries with no radial artery ablation. At 32 dg, Ctip2- and CR-immunoreactive (IR) cells had populated the cerebral cortex, whereas SST-IR cells had not, suggesting these neurons were yet to complete migration. At 52 dg, in IUGR versus control fetuses, there was a reduction in SST-IR cell density in the cerebral cortex (p = .0175) and hilus of the dentate gyrus (p = .0035) but not the striatum (p > .05). There was no difference between groups in the density of Ctip2-IR (cortex) or CR-IR (cortex, hippocampus) neurons (p > 0.05). Thus, we propose that an imbalance in inhibitory (SST-IR) and excitatory (Ctip2-IR) neurons in the IUGR fetal guinea pig brain could lead to excitatory/inhibitory dysfunction commonly seen in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.     

Cell-Type Specificity of Callosally Evoked Excitation and Feedforward Inhibition in the Prefrontal Cortex

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