Cellular neuroscience articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Oxytocin (OXT) has been implicated in adult neurogenesis. Here the authors show that CA3 pyramidal cells in the adult mouse hippocampus express OXT receptors and receive inputs from hypothalamic OXT neurons; activation of OXT signaling in CA3 pyramidal cells promotes the survival and maturation of newborn neurons in the dentate gyrus in a non-cell autonomous manner.

    • Yu-Ting Lin
    • , Chien-Chung Chen
    •  & Kuei-Sen Hsu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Molecular mechanisms regulating the development of inhibitory synapses are poorly understood. Here the authors show that IgSF21 interacts with neurexin2α to induce presynaptic differentiation of inhibitory synapses, and that mice lacking IgSF21 exhibit deficits in inhibitory synaptic transmission.

    • Yuko Tanabe
    • , Yusuke Naito
    •  & Hideto Takahashi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Emerging evidence suggests that gut microbiota influences immune function in the brain and may play a role in neurological diseases. Here, the authors offer in vivo evidence from a Drosophila model that supports a role for gut microbiota in modulating the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

    • Tetsuya Takano
    • , Mengya Wu
    •  & Kozo Kaibuchi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The molecular mechanism underlying the generation and maintenance of the readily releasable pool composed of primed synaptic vesicles is only partially known. Here the authors show that in mouse primary neurons, Munc13-1 and Munc18-1 stabilize primed synaptic vesicles by preventing NSF-dependent de-priming.

    • Enqi He
    • , Keimpe Wierda
    •  & Matthijs Verhage

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Investigating cell death in living organisms is hampered by a lack of techniques to induce apoptosis with spatial and temporal precision without collateral damage. Here the authors develop two-photon chemical apoptotic targeted ablation (2Phatal), allowing studies of apoptosis and its functional consequencesin vivo.

    • Robert A. Hill
    • , Eyiyemisi C. Damisah
    •  & Jaime Grutzendler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Current approaches to thermogenetic manipulation of neuronal activity lack sufficient spatiotemporal resolution. Here the authors show that neurons expressing snake TRPA1 channels are activated at high temporal resolution with IR light and this technique can be used to elicit behaviour in zebrafish larvae.

    • Yulia G. Ermakova
    • , Aleksandr A. Lanin
    •  & Vsevolod V. Belousov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Long-term consumption of a calorie-rich diet persistently activates brain microglia. Here, the authors show that microglial activity in mouse brains oscillates daily in conjunction with feeding, and that TNFα, secreted by activated microglia, induces mitochondrial stress in satiety-promoting POMC neurons.

    • Chun-Xia Yi
    • , Marc Walter
    •  & Matthias H. Tschöp

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Prenatal exposure to environmental stressors is known to impair cortical development. Here the authors show that upon exposure to stressors, the activation of Hsf1-Hsp signalling is highly variable among cells in the embryonic cortex of mice, and either too much or too little activation can result in defects in cortical development.

    • Seiji Ishii
    • , Masaaki Torii
    •  & Kazue Hashimoto-Torii

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How neurons and neuronal activity regulate astrocyte functions is poorly understood. Haselet al. identify two large groups of astrocytic genes that are regulated by neuronal contact and synaptic activity respectively, with distinct roles in astrocytic function; interestingly, many of these genes are dysregulated in neurodegeneration.

    • Philip Hasel
    • , Owen Dando
    •  & Giles E. Hardingham

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The endogenous opioid system regulates fear and anxiety, but the underlying cellular mechanism is unclear. Winterset al. shows that in the intercalated cells (ITC) of the amygdala, endogenous opioids suppress glutamatergic inputs via the δ-opioid receptor presynaptically, and reduce the excitability of ITCs via the μ-opioid receptor postsynaptically.

    • Bryony L. Winters
    • , Gabrielle C. Gregoriou
    •  & Elena E. Bagley

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is known to modulate anxiety-related behaviours. Here the authors show that excitatory inputs from infralimbic cortex and ventral subiculum/CA1 converge onto the same BNST neurons; stimulation of vSUB/CA1 triggers LTP in BNST and reduces anxiety in rats.

    • Christelle Glangetas
    • , Léma Massi
    •  & François Georges

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cortical GABAergic interneurons are highly diverse in their gene expression, electrophysiological properties, and connectivity. Here the authors reveal three distinct subtypes of Htr3a-GFP+ interneurons using the single-cell RNA-seq approach, and identify MEIS2 as a marker for one such subtype.

    • Sarah Frazer
    • , Julien Prados
    •  & Alexandre Dayer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The molecular mechanisms underlying retrograde transport in axons are only partially understood. Villarinet al. show that in cultured DRG neurons, extracellular trophic cues such as NGF dynamically regulate local protein synthesis of dynein cofactors, thus controlling retrograde trafficking in neurons.

    • Joseph M. Villarin
    • , Ethan P. McCurdy
    •  & Ulrich Hengst

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Astrocytes regulate synaptic signalling via EAAT glutamate uptake, though whether they play a role in Hebbian plasticity is unknown. Here, the authors find targeting EAAT2 disrupts the emergence of spike timing-dependent plasticity, which highlights the role of astrocytes as gatekeepers for Hebbian plasticity.

    • Silvana Valtcheva
    •  & Laurent Venance

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors combinein vivopatch-clamp recordings and optogenetics to show that balanced dendritic excitation and inhibition provides a sensitive ‘push-pull’ mechanism that generates the bidirectional modulation of Purkinje cell SSp output necessary for normal locomotor behaviour.

    • Marta Jelitai
    • , Paolo Puggioni
    •  & Ian Duguid

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Astrocytes monitor and regulate both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic activity. Here, the authors identify a novel form of neuronal-glia communication, by which astrocytes detect rises in GABA via the GABA transporter GAT-3; this results in adenosine release that acts presynaptically to inhibit neural glutamatergic signalling.

    • Kim Boddum
    • , Thomas P. Jensen
    •  & Matthew C. Walker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chloride regulation is important for setting GABAergic reversal potential, though tools to manipulate chloride levels are limited. Here, the authors combine Archaerhodopsin with a chloride channel opsin to generate an optogenetic chloride extrusion strategy, ‘Cl-out’, which they demonstrate in hippocampal slices.

    • Hannah Alfonsa
    • , Jeremy H. Lakey
    •  & Andrew J. Trevelyan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Back-propagating action potentials (bAP) and NMDA dendritic spikes have both been linked to long-term plasticity (LTP) induction, though it is unclear which factors are essential. Here, using electrophysiology and Ca2+imaging, the authors find NMDA spikes are a key initiator of LTP, and that bAP contribution occurs via NMDA spike triggering.

    • Federico Brandalise
    • , Stefano Carta
    •  & Urs Gerber

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), neural hyperactivity has been shown to occur in the regions surrounding Aβ plaques. Here, the authors use in vivotwo-photon imaging in mouse models of AD and report abnormal glutamate dynamics in the vicinity of plaques which can be partially restored via GLT-1 upregulation through Ceftriaxone treatment.

    • J. K. Hefendehl
    • , J. LeDue
    •  & B. A. MacVicar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gephyrin is a cytoplasmic scaffolding protein that selectively forms postsynaptic scaffolds at GABAergic and glycinergic synapses. Here the authors characterize regulatory mechanisms determining gephyrin scaffolding and GABAA receptor synaptic transmission that involve acetylation, SUMOylation and phosphorylation.

    • Himanish Ghosh
    • , Luca Auguadri
    •  & Shiva K. Tyagarajan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Kainate receptors are selectively found at CA3-mossy fibre synapses, although the mechanisms regulating this compartmentalisation have yet to be determined. Here, the authors find KAR segregation is dependent on the amount of GluK2a protein and an interaction between the GluK2 C-terminal domain and N-cadherin.

    • Sabine Fièvre
    • , Mario Carta
    •  & Christophe Mulle

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are differentially expressed across cortical layers, yet it is unclear whether they show layer-specific effects on synaptic plasticity in the prefrontal cortex. Here, the authors compare nAChRs across L6 and L2/3 in human and mouse cortex and find they mediate opposite effects on synaptic plasticity.

    • Matthijs B. Verhoog
    • , Joshua Obermayer
    •  & Huibert D. Mansvelder

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The molecular mechanism of axon regeneration after injury is poorly understood. Here the authors show that in C. elegans, the HIF-1 transcription factor induces ectopic synthesis of serotonin in severed ‘non-serotonergic’ neurons and that serotonin activates downstream signaling pathways leading to axon regeneration.

    • Tanimul Alam
    • , Hiroki Maruyama
    •  & Kunihiro Matsumoto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The spatiotemporal pattern of synaptic inputs is critical for synaptic integration and plasticity in neurons but whether these inputs are structured or random is not clear. Here the authors use in vivocalcium imaging to monitor the presynaptic activity of cerebellar parallel fibre axons and find clustered patterns of axonal activity during sensory processing.

    • Christian D. Wilms
    •  & Michael Häusser

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mitochondrial dysfunction has been associated with Parkinson’s disease but effective therapies targeting this pathway are yet to be developed. Here the authors show that inhibition of the mitochondrial fission protein Drp-1 using genetic or small-molecule approaches in mouse models of the disease, leads to improvements in the pathology.

    • Phillip M. Rappold
    • , Mei Cui
    •  & Kim Tieu

  • Article |

    The kisspeptin receptor GPR54 is implicated in the maintenance of mammalian fertility. Kirilov et al.study GPR54 mutant mice and identify a subset of neurons in the brain expressing gonadotropin-releasing hormone as the critical site for kisspeptin action.

    • Milen Kirilov
    • , Jenny Clarkson
    •  & Allan E. Herbison

  • Article |

    The SNARE protein family member, SNAP-25, is implicated in modulating synaptic plasticity. Tomasoni et al. show that SNAP-25 recruits the protein p140Cap in order to regulate the density, morphology and functionality of dendritic spines.

    • Romana Tomasoni
    • , Daniele Repetto
    •  & Michela Matteoli

  • Article |

    Recent studies suggest that there is an overlap between neuronal apoptosis and axon-specific degeneration. Cusack and colleagues show that the caspase-dependent pathways mediating axon degeneration during apoptosis are distinct from those mediating localized axon pruning.

    • Corey L. Cusack
    • , Vijay Swahari
    •  & Mohanish Deshmukh

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