| First Author | Wang F | Year | 2012 |
| Journal | Sci Signal | Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 218 | Pages | ra26 |
| PubMed ID | 22472648 | Mgi Jnum | J:260207 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6142736 | Doi | 10.1126/scisignal.2002334 |
| Citation | Wang F, et al. (2012) Astrocytes modulate neural network activity by Ca(2)+-dependent uptake of extracellular K+. Sci Signal 5(218):ra26 |
| abstractText | Astrocytes are electrically nonexcitable cells that display increases in cytosolic calcium ion (Ca(2)+) in response to various neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. However, the physiological role of astrocytic Ca(2)+ signaling remains controversial. We show here that astrocytic Ca(2)+ signaling ex vivo and in vivo stimulated the Na+,K+-ATPase (Na+- and K+-dependent adenosine triphosphatase), leading to a transient decrease in the extracellular potassium ion (K+) concentration. This in turn led to neuronal hyperpolarization and suppressed baseline excitatory synaptic activity, detected as a reduced frequency of excitatory postsynaptic currents. Synaptic failures decreased in parallel, leading to an increase in synaptic fidelity. The net result was that astrocytes, through active uptake of K+, improved the signal-to-noise ratio of synaptic transmission. Active control of the extracellular K+ concentration thus provides astrocytes with a simple yet powerful mechanism to rapidly modulate network activity. |
