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The Journal of Neuroscience, April 1, 2002, 22(7):2443-2450
Synaptically Released Acetylcholine Evokes Ca2+
Elevations in Astrocytes in Hippocampal Slices
Alfonso
Araque,
Eduardo D.
Martín,
Gertrudis
Perea,
Jon I.
Arellano, and
Washington
Buño
Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
Científicas, Madrid 28002, Spain
Recent results have demonstrated the existence of bidirectional
communication between glial cells and neurons. We investigated in brain
slices whether rat hippocampal astrocytes respond to acetylcholine
synaptically released by an extrinsic pathway. We stimulated the
stratum oriens/alveus, which contains cholinergic afferents from the
septum and diagonal band of Broca, and recorded whole-cell membrane
currents and intracellular Ca2+ levels of
astrocytes located in the hippocampal stratum oriens. Nerve-fiber
stimulation evoked a long-lasting inward current and increased the
Ca2+ levels in astrocytes. Both astrocytic responses
were abolished by tetrodotoxin or Cd2+ and were
increased by 4-aminopyridine, indicating that the responses were
attributable to synaptically released neurotransmitter. The inward
current was inhibited by glutamate transporter antagonists, indicating
that it was attributable to the electrogenic glutamate transporter
activity. The synaptically evoked intracellular Ca2+
elevations were not affected by glutamate receptor antagonists but were
abolished by atropine, indicating that they were mediated by muscarinic
cholinergic receptors. Thapsigargin prevented the Ca2+ elevation but did not modify the inward
current, indicating that the Ca2+ signal was
attributable to intracellular Ca2+ mobilization.
These results indicate that hippocampal astrocytes respond to
acetylcholine released by synaptic terminals. The synaptically released
acetylcholine acts on muscarinic receptors, mobilizing Ca2+ from the intracellular stores. Different
regions in the recorded astrocytes showed independent stimulus-induced
Ca2+ variations, suggesting the existence of
subcellular domains in the astrocytic responses evoked by the synaptic
cholinergic activity. Therefore, our results show the existence of
cholinergic neuron-astrocyte signaling and suggest that astrocytes are
a target of axonal inputs from different brain areas.
Key words:
intracellular calcium; astrocytes; muscarinic cholinergic
receptors; glutamate transporters; hippocampal slices; synaptic
transmitter release
Copyright © 2002 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/02/2272443-08$05.00/0
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