| First Author | Fiacco TA | Year | 2007 |
| Journal | Neuron | Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 611-26 |
| PubMed ID | 17521573 | Mgi Jnum | J:126487 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3761422 | Doi | 10.1016/j.neuron.2007.04.032 |
| Citation | Fiacco TA, et al. (2007) Selective stimulation of astrocyte calcium in situ does not affect neuronal excitatory synaptic activity. Neuron 54(4):611-26 |
| abstractText | Astrocytes are considered the third component of the synapse, responding to neurotransmitter release from synaptic terminals and releasing gliotransmitters--including glutamate--in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner to affect neuronal synaptic activity. Many studies reporting astrocyte-driven neuronal activity have evoked astrocyte Ca(2+) increases by application of endogenous ligands that directly activate neuronal receptors, making astrocyte contribution to neuronal effect(s) difficult to determine. We have made transgenic mice that express a Gq-coupled receptor only in astrocytes to evoke astrocyte Ca(2+) increases using an agonist that does not bind endogenous receptors in brain. By recording from CA1 pyramidal cells in acute hippocampal slices from these mice, we demonstrate that widespread Ca(2+) elevations in 80%-90% of stratum radiatum astrocytes do not increase neuronal Ca(2+), produce neuronal slow inward currents, or affect excitatory synaptic activity. Our findings call into question the developing consensus that Ca(2+)-dependent glutamate release by astrocytes directly affects neuronal synaptic activity in situ. |
