Melanopsin for precise optogenetic activation of astrocyte-neuron networks.
Glia. 2019-01-11; 67(5): 915-934
DOI: 10.1002/glia.23580
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Mederos S(1), Hernández-Vivanco A(1), Ramírez-Franco J(1), Martín-Fernández M(2), Navarrete M(3), Yang A(4), Boyden ES(4)(5), Perea G(1).
Author information:
(1)Department of Functional and Systems Neurobiology, Instituto Cajal, CSIC,
Madrid, Spain.
(2)Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(3)Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain.
(4)Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
(5)McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
Optogenetics has been widely expanded to enhance or suppress neuronal activity
and it has been recently applied to glial cells. Here, we have used a new
approach based on selective expression of melanopsin, a G-protein-coupled
photopigment, in astrocytes to trigger Ca2+ signaling. Using the genetically
encoded Ca2+ indicator GCaMP6f and two-photon imaging, we show that melanopsin
is both competent to stimulate robust IP3-dependent Ca2+ signals in astrocyte
fine processes, and to evoke an ATP/Adenosine-dependent transient boost of
hippocampal excitatory synaptic transmission. Additionally, under low-frequency
light stimulation conditions, melanopsin-transfected astrocytes can trigger
long-term synaptic changes. In vivo, melanopsin-astrocyte activation enhances
episodic-like memory, suggesting melanopsin as an optical tool that could
recapitulate the wide range of regulatory actions of astrocytes on neuronal
networks in behaving animals. These results describe a novel approach using
melanopsin as a precise trigger for astrocytes that mimics their endogenous
G-protein signaling pathways, and present melanopsin as a valuable optical tool
for neuron-glia studies.
© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.