Title: Glycine receptors in mouse striatal projection neurons
Abstract: Event Abstract Back to Event Glycine receptors in mouse striatal projection neurons Svetlana M. Molchanova1*, Joris Comhair2, David Gall1, Bert Brône2, Jean-Michel Rigo2 and Serge N. Schiffmann1 1 Université Libre de Bruxelles, Laboratoire de Neurophysiologie, Belgium 2 Universiteit Hasselt, Belgium Striatum, the major input nucleus of the basal ganglia, plays a crucial role in selecting behaviorally relevant cortical and thalamic information from background noise. Striatal projections are formed by two types of medium spiny neurons (MSNs), defined by the brain region they are innervating. Both types of MSNs receive glutamatergic inputs from motor cortex and thalamus; direct-pathway MSNs project to substantia nigra pars reticulata and medial globus pallidus, whereas indirect-pathway MSNs innervate lateral globus pallidus. The presence of the glycine receptors (GlyRs) in MSNs was shown before, but their functional significance is not yet known. Here we aimed to confirm the presence of GlyRs in these cell types, and evaluate their possible role in development and function of striatal circuitry. First, we showed by qPCR the expression of alpha2 and beta GlyR subunits in the striatum of neonatal and adult mice. Expression of the beta subunit increased with age; whilst the alpha2 subunit was three times more abundant in striatum of 6-days old animals than in one month-old mice. Using the patch clamp technique, we then have confirmed the presence of strychnine-sensitive glycinergic currents in direct- and indirect-pathway MSNs in striatum of 6-12 weeks old mice, identified by the GFP fluorescence expressed under drd1 or drd2 promoter. To evaluate the subunit composition of the GlyRs, responsible for these currents, we performed similar experiments using constitutive GlyR alpha2 subunit knockout mouse line. MSNs of 6-12 weeks old alpha2 knockout mice do not respond to local application of glycine, which means that glycinergic currents in MSNs are mediated by GlyRs with alpha2 being the only glycine-binding subunit. Using intracellular Cl- concentration, which corresponds to the physiological adult condition for this cell type, we have shown that MSNs lacking functional glycine receptors were more hyperpolarized and less excitable, compared to wild-type controls. In the GlyR alpha2 knockout mice, we also observed a reduction of the glutamatergic input to MSNs, as evidenced by a two-fold decrease in the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents compared to wild-type controls. Amplitude and decay of these currents were not affected, and the properties of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents were also similar in alpha2-knockout and control MSNs. Altogether, our data shows that glycine receptors are present in striatal projection neurons, and the absence of GlyR alpha2 affects their intrinsic firing properties and density of corticostriatal connections. Acknowledgements We thank Prof. Robert J. Harvey for kindly providing us with GlyRα2KO mice and Laetitia Cuvelier and Delphine Houtteman for technical assistance. The study was supported by Interuniversity Attraction Pole (IAP – P7/10) from Belgian Science Policy Office (Belspo), FRS-FNRS and FMRE. Keywords: glycine receptors, Medium spiny neurons, Striatum, excitability, Synaptic connectivity Conference: 11th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience, Mons, Belgium, 22 May - 22 May, 2015. Presentation Type: Oral or Poster presentation Topic: Neuroscience Citation: Molchanova SM, Comhair J, Gall D, Brône B, Rigo J and Schiffmann SN (2015). Glycine receptors in mouse striatal projection neurons. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: 11th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2015.89.00027 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 05 May 2015; Published Online: 05 May 2015. * Correspondence: Dr. Svetlana M Molchanova, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Laboratoire de Neurophysiologie, Brussels, Belgium, [email protected] Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Svetlana M Molchanova Joris Comhair David Gall Bert Brône Jean-Michel Rigo Serge N Schiffmann Google Svetlana M Molchanova Joris Comhair David Gall Bert Brône Jean-Michel Rigo Serge N Schiffmann Google Scholar Svetlana M Molchanova Joris Comhair David Gall Bert Brône Jean-Michel Rigo Serge N Schiffmann PubMed Svetlana M Molchanova Joris Comhair David Gall Bert Brône Jean-Michel Rigo Serge N Schiffmann Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.