2. Academic Validation
  3. Astroglial adrenoreceptors modulate synaptic transmission and contextual fear memory formation in dentate gyrus

Astroglial adrenoreceptors modulate synaptic transmission and contextual fear memory formation in dentate gyrus

  • Neurochem Int. 2021 Feb;143:104942. doi: 10.1016/j.neuint.2020.104942.
Weida Shen 1,  Shishuo Chen 2,  Yingchun Xiang 3,  Zheyu Yao 4,  Zhitao Chen 4,  Xitian Wu 4,  Ling Li 4,  Ling-Hui Zeng 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310015, China. Electronic address: shenwd@zucc.edu.cn.
  • 2 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310015, China; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China.
  • 3 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China.
  • 4 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310015, China.
  • 5 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310015, China; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China. Electronic address: zenglh@zucc.edu.cn.
PMID: 33340594 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2020.104942
Abstract

Astrocytes perform various supporting functions, including ion buffering, metabolic supplying and neurotransmitter clearance. They can also sense neuronal activity owing to the presence of specific receptors for neurotransmitters. In turn, astrocytes can regulate synaptic activity through the release of gliotransmitters. Evidence has shown that astrocytes are very sensitive to the locus coeruleus (LC) afferents. However, little is known about how LC neuromodulatory norepinephrine (NE) modulates synaptic transmission through astrocytic activity. In mouse dentate gyrus (DG), we demonstrated an increase in the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSC) in response to NE, which required the release of glutamate from astrocytes. The rise in glutamate release probability is likely due to the activation of presynaptic GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors. Moreover, we showed that the activation of NE signaling in DG is necessary for the formation of contextual learning memory. Thus, NE signaling activation during fear conditioning training contributed to enduring changes in the frequency of mEPSC in DG. Our results strongly support the physiological neuromodulatory role of NE signaling, which is derived from activation of astrocytes.

Keywords

Astrocytic calcium signaling; Learning and memory; Norepinephrine; Pre-synaptic NMDA receptor; Synaptic transmission.

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