Mitochondria-Endoplasmic Reticulum Contacts in Reactive Astrocytes Promote Vascular Remodeling.

Astrocytes have emerged for playing important roles in brain tissue repair; however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We show that acute injury and blood-brain barrier disruption trigger the formation of a prominent mitochondrial-enriched compartment in astrocytic endfeet, which enables vascular remodeling. Integrated imaging approaches revealed that this mitochondrial clustering is part of an adaptive response regulated by fusion dynamics. Astrocyte-specific conditional deletion of Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) suppressed perivascular mitochondrial clustering and disrupted mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum (ER) contact sites. Functionally, two-photon imaging experiments showed that these structural changes were mirrored by impaired mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake leading to abnormal cytosolic transients within endfeet in vivo. At the tissue level, a compromised vascular complexity in the lesioned area was restored by boosting mitochondrial-ER perivascular tethering in MFN2-deficient astrocytes. These data unmask a crucial role for mitochondrial dynamics in coordinating astrocytic local domains and have important implications for repairing the injured brain.

Refined protocols of tamoxifen injection for inducible DNA recombination in mouse astroglia.

Inducible DNA recombination of floxed alleles in vivo by liver metabolites of tamoxifen (TAM) is an important tool to study gene functions. Here, we describe protocols for optimal DNA recombination in astrocytes, based on the GLAST-CreERT2/loxP system. In addition, we demonstrate that quantification of genomic recombination allows to determine the proportion of cell types in various brain regions. We analyzed the presence and clearance of TAM and its metabolites (N-desmethyl-tamoxifen, 4-hydroxytamoxifen and endoxifen) in brain and serum of mice by liquid chromatographic-high resolution-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HR-MS/MS) and assessed optimal injection protocols by quantitative RT-PCR of several floxed target genes (p2ry1, gria1, gabbr1 and Rosa26-tdTomato locus). Maximal recombination could be achieved in cortex and cerebellum by single daily injections for five and three consecutive days, respectively. Furthermore, quantifying the loss of floxed alleles predicted the percentage of GLAST-positive cells (astroglia) per brain region. We found that astrocytes contributed 20 to 30% of the total cell number in cortex, hippocampus, brainstem and optic nerve, while in the cerebellum Bergmann glia, velate astrocytes and white matter astrocytes accounted only for 8% of all cells.

Oligodendroglial NMDA Receptors Regulate Glucose Import and Axonal Energy Metabolism.

Oligodendrocytes make myelin and support axons metabolically with lactate. However, it is unknown how glucose utilization and glycolysis are adapted to the different axonal energy demands. Spiking axons release glutamate and oligodendrocytes express NMDA receptors of unknown function. Here we show that the stimulation of oligodendroglial NMDA receptors mobilizes glucose transporter GLUT1, leading to its incorporation into the myelin compartment in vivo. When myelinated optic nerves from conditional NMDA receptor mutants are challenged with transient oxygen-glucose deprivation, they show a reduced functional recovery when returned to oxygen-glucose but are indistinguishable from wild-type when provided with oxygen-lactate. Moreover, the functional integrity of isolated optic nerves, which are electrically silent, is extended by preincubation with NMDA, mimicking axonal activity, and shortened by NMDA receptor blockers. This reveals a novel aspect of neuronal energy metabolism in which activity-dependent glutamate release enhances oligodendroglial glucose uptake and glycolytic support of fast spiking axons.

The inhibitory input to mouse cerebellar Purkinje cells is reciprocally modulated by Bergmann glial P2Y1 and AMPA receptor signaling.

Synaptic transmission has been shown to be modulated by glial functions, but the modes of specific glial action may vary in different neural circuits. We have tested the hypothesis, if Bergmann GLIA (BG) are involved in shaping neuronal communication in the mouse cerebellar cortex, using acutely isolated cerebellar slices of wild-type (WT) and of glia-specific receptor knockout mice. Activation of P2Y1 receptors by ADP (100 µM) or glutamatergic receptors by AMPA (0.3 µM) resulted in a robust, reversible and repeatable rise of evoked inhibitory input in Purkinje cells by 80% and 150%, respectively. The ADP-induced response was suppressed by prior application of AMPA, and the AMPA-induced response was suppressed by prior application of ADP. Genetic deletion or pharmacological blockade of either receptor restored the response to the other receptor agonist. Both ADP and AMPA responses were sensitive to Rose Bengal, which blocks vesicular glutamate uptake, and to the NMDA receptor antagonist D-AP5. Our results provide strong evidence that activation of both ADP and AMPA receptors, located on BGs, results in the release of glutamate, which in turn activates inhibitory interneurons via NMDA-type glutamate receptors. This infers that BG cells, by means of metabotropic signaling via their AMPA and P2Y1 receptors, which mutually suppress each other, would interdependently contribute to the fine-tuning of Purkinje cell activity in the cerebellar cortex. GLIA 2016. GLIA 2016;64:1265-1280.

Genetic control of astrocyte function in neural circuits.

During the last two decades numerous genetic approaches affecting cell function in vivo have been developed. Current state-of-the-art technology permits the selective switching of gene function in distinct cell populations within the complex organization of a given tissue parenchyma. The tamoxifen-inducible Cre/loxP gene recombination and the doxycycline-dependent modulation of gene expression are probably the most popular genetic paradigms. Here, we will review applications of these two strategies while focusing on the interactions of astrocytes and neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) and their impact for the whole organism. Abolishing glial sensing of neuronal activity by selective deletion of glial transmitter receptors demonstrated the impact of astrocytes for higher cognitive functions such as learning and memory, or the more basic body control of muscle coordination. Interestingly, also interfering with glial output, i.e., the release of gliotransmitters can drastically change animal's physiology like sleeping behavior. Furthermore, such genetic approaches have also been used to restore astrocyte function. In these studies two alternatives were employed to achieve proper genetic targeting of astrocytes: transgenes using the promoter of the human glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) or homologous recombination into the glutamate-aspartate transporter (GLAST) locus. We will highlight their specific properties that could be relevant for their use.

Bergmann glial AMPA receptors are required for fine motor coordination.

The impact of glial neurotransmitter receptors in vivo is still elusive. In the cerebellum, Bergmann glial (BG) cells express α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs) composed exclusively of GluA1 and/or GluA4 subunits. With the use of conditional gene inactivation, we found that the majority of cerebellar GluA1/A4-type AMPARs are expressed in BG cells. In young mice, deletion of BG AMPARs resulted in retraction of glial appendages from Purkinje cell (PC) synapses, increased amplitude and duration of evoked PC currents, and a delayed formation of glutamatergic synapses. In adult mice, AMPAR inactivation also caused retraction of glial processes. The physiological and structural changes were accompanied by behavioral impairments in fine motor coordination. Thus, BG AMPARs are essential to optimize synaptic integration and cerebellar output function throughout life.

The E3-ubiquitin ligase TRIM2 regulates neuronal polarization.

The establishment of a polarized morphology with a single axon and multiple dendrites is an essential step during neuronal differentiation. This cellular polarization is largely depending on changes in the dynamics of the neuronal cytoskeleton. Here, we show that the tripartite motif (TRIM)-NHL protein TRIM2 is regulating axon specification in cultured mouse hippocampal neurons, where one of several initially indistinguishable neurites is selected to become the axon. Suppression of TRIM2 by RNA interference results in the loss of neuronal polarity while over-expression of TRIM2 induces the specification of multiple axons. TRIM2 conducts its function during neuronal polarization by ubiquitination of the neurofilament light chain. Together, our results imply an important function of TRIM2 for axon outgrowth during development.