Coupled sensory interneurons mediate escape neural circuit processing in an aquatic annelid worm, Lumbriculus variegatus.

The interneurons associated with rapid escape circuits are adapted for fast pathway activation and rapid conduction. An essential aspect of fast activation is the processing of sensory information with limited delays. Although aquatic annelid worms have some of the fastest escape responses in nature, the sensory networks that mediate their escape behavior are not well defined. Here, we demonstrate that the escape circuit of the mud worm, Lumbriculus variegatus, is a segmentally arranged network of sensory interneurons electrically coupled to the central medial giant fiber (MGF), the command-like interneuron for head withdrawal. Electrical stimulation of the body wall evoked fast, short-duration spikelets in the MGF, which we suggest are the product of intermediate giant fiber activation coupled to MGF collateral dendrites. Since these contact sites have immunoreactivity with a glutamate receptor antibody, and the glutamate receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dion abolishes evoked MGF responses, we conclude that the afferent pathway for MGF-mediated escape is glutamatergic. This electrically coupled sensory network may facilitate rapid escape activation by enhancing the amplitude of giant axon depolarization.

Drosophila CRY Entrains Clocks in Body Tissues to Light and Maintains Passive Membrane Properties in a Non-clock Body Tissue Independent of Light.

Circadian (∼24 hr) clocks regulate daily rhythms in physiology, metabolism, and behavior via cell-autonomous transcriptional feedback loops. In Drosophila, the blue-light photoreceptor CRYPTOCHROME (CRY) synchronizes these feedback loops to light:dark cycles by binding to and degrading TIMELESS (TIM) protein. CRY also acts independently of TIM in Drosophila to alter potassium channel conductance in arousal neurons after light exposure, and in many animals CRY acts independently of light to repress rhythmic transcription. CRY expression has been characterized in the Drosophila brain and eyes, but not in peripheral clock and non-clock tissues in the body. To investigate CRY expression and function in body tissues, we generated a GFP-tagged-cry transgene that rescues light-induced behavioral phase resetting in cry03 mutant flies and sensitively reports GFP-CRY expression. In bodies, CRY is detected in clock-containing tissues including Malpighian tubules, where it mediates both light-dependent TIM degradation and clock function. In larval salivary glands, which lack clock function but are amenable to electrophysiological recording, CRY prevents membrane input resistance from falling to low levels in a light-independent manner. The ability of CRY to maintain high input resistance in these non-excitable cells also requires the K+ channel subunits Hyperkinetic, Shaker, and ether-a-go-go. These findings for the first time define CRY expression in Drosophila peripheral tissues and reveal that CRY acts together with K+ channels to maintain passive membrane properties in a non-clock-containing peripheral tissue independent of light.

The role of Drosophila cytidine monophosphate-sialic acid synthetase in the nervous system.

While sialylation plays important functions in the nervous system, the complexity of glycosylation pathways and limitations of genetic approaches preclude the efficient analysis of these functions in mammalian organisms. Drosophila has recently emerged as a promising model for studying neural sialylation. Drosophila sialyltransferase, DSiaT, was shown to be involved in the regulation of neural transmission. However, the sialylation pathway was not investigated in Drosophila beyond the DSiaT-mediated step. Here we focused on the function of Drosophila cytidine monophosphate-sialic acid synthetase (CSAS), the enzyme providing a sugar donor for DSiaT. Our results revealed that the expression of CSAS is tightly regulated and restricted to the CNS throughout development and in adult flies. We generated CSAS mutants and analyzed their phenotypes using behavioral and physiological approaches. Our experiments demonstrated that mutant phenotypes of CSAS are similar to those of DSiaT, including decreased longevity, temperature-induced paralysis, locomotor abnormalities, and defects of neural transmission at neuromuscular junctions. Genetic interactions between CSAS, DSiaT, and voltage-gated channel genes paralytic and seizure were consistent with the hypothesis that CSAS and DSiaT function within the same pathway regulating neural excitability. Intriguingly, these interactions also suggested that CSAS and DSiaT have some additional, independent functions. Moreover, unlike its mammalian counterparts that work in the nucleus, Drosophila CSAS was found to be a glycoprotein-bearing N-glycans and predominantly localized in vivo to the Golgi compartment. Our work provides the first systematic analysis of in vivo functions of a eukaryotic CSAS gene and sheds light on evolutionary relationships among metazoan CSAS proteins.

Rapid neural circuit switching mediated by synaptic plasticity during neural morphallactic regeneration.

The aquatic oligochaete, Lumbriculus variegatus (Lumbriculidae), undergoes a rapid regenerative transformation of its neural circuits following body fragmentation. This type of nervous system plasticity, called neural morphallaxis, involves the remodeling of the giant fiber pathways that mediate rapid head and tail withdrawal behaviors. Extra- and intracellular electrophysiological recordings demonstrated that changes in cellular properties and synaptic connections underlie neurobehavioral plasticity during morphallaxis. Sensory-to-giant interneuron connections, undetectable prior to body injury, emerged within hours of segment amputation. The appearance of functional synaptic transmission was followed by interneuron activation, coupling of giant fiber spiking to motor outputs and overt segmental shortening. The onset of morphallactic plasticity varied along the body axis and emerged more rapidly in segments closer to regions of sensory field overlap between the two giant fiber pathways. The medial and lateral giant fibers were simultaneously activated during a transient phase of network remodeling. Thus, synaptic plasticity at sensory-to-giant interneuron connections mediates escape circuit morphallaxis in this regenerating annelid worm.

Mitochondrial calcium signaling mediates rhythmic extracellular ATP accumulation in suprachiasmatic nucleus astrocytes.

The master circadian pacemaker located within the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) controls neural and neuroendocrine rhythms in the mammalian brain. Astrocytes are abundant in the SCN, and this cell type displays circadian rhythms in clock gene expression and extracellular accumulation of ATP. Still, the intracellular signaling pathways that link the SCN clockworks to circadian rhythms in extracellular ATP accumulation remain unclear. Because ATP release from astrocytes is a calcium-dependent process, we investigated the relationship between intracellular Ca(2+) and ATP accumulation and have demonstrated that intracellular Ca(2+) levels fluctuate in an antiphase relationship with rhythmic ATP accumulation in rat SCN2.2 cell cultures. Furthermore, mitochondrial Ca(2+) levels were rhythmic and maximal in precise antiphase with the peak in cytosolic Ca(2+). In contrast, our finding that peak mitochondrial Ca(2+) occurred during maximal extracellular ATP accumulation suggests a link between these cellular rhythms. Inhibition of the mitochondrial Ca(2+) uniporter disrupted the rhythmic production and extracellular accumulation of ATP. ATP, calcium, and the biological clock affect cell division and have been implicated in cell death processes. Nonetheless, rhythmic extracellular ATP accumulation was not disrupted by cell cycle arrest and was not correlated with caspase activity in SCN2.2 cell cultures. Together, these results demonstrate that mitochondrial Ca(2+) mediates SCN2.2 rhythms in extracellular ATP accumulation and suggest a role for circadian gliotransmission in SCN clock function.

Serotonin regulates electrical coupling via modulation of extrajunctional conductance: H-current.

Synaptic strength can be highly variable from animal to animal within a species or over time within an individual. The process of synaptic plasticity induced by neuromodulatory agents might be unpredictable when the underlying circuits subject to modulation are themselves inherently variable. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptomine; 5HT) and serotonergic signaling pathways are important regulators of animal behavior and are pharmacological targets in a wide range of neurological disorders. We have examined the effect of 5HT on electrical synapses possessing variable coupling strengths. While 5HT decreased electrical coupling at synapses with weak electrical connectivity, synapses with strong electrical coupling were less affected by 5HT treatment, as follows from the equations used for calculating coupling coefficients. The fact that the modulatory effect of 5HT on electrical connections was negatively correlated with the strength of electrical coupling suggests that the degree of electrical coupling within a neural network impacts subsequent neuromodulation of those synapses. Biophysical studies indicated that these effects were primarily due to 5HT-induced modulation of membrane currents that indirectly affect junctional coupling at synaptic contacts. In support of these experimental analyses, we created a simple model of coupled neurons to demonstrate that modulation of electrical coupling could be due solely to 5HT effects on H-channel conductance. Therefore, variability in the strength of electrical coupling in neural circuits can determine the pharmacological effect of this neuromodulatory agent.

Sialyltransferase regulates nervous system function in Drosophila.

In vertebrates, sialylated glycans participate in a wide range of biological processes and affect the development and function of the nervous system. While the complexity of glycosylation and the functional redundancy among sialyltransferases provide obstacles for revealing biological roles of sialylation in mammals, Drosophila possesses a sole vertebrate-type sialyltransferase, Drosophila sialyltransferase (DSiaT), with significant homology to its mammalian counterparts, suggesting that Drosophila could be a suitable model to investigate the function of sialylation. To explore this possibility and investigate the role of sialylation in Drosophila, we inactivated DSiaT in vivo by gene targeting and analyzed phenotypes of DSiaT mutants using a combination of behavioral, immunolabeling, electrophysiological, and pharmacological approaches. Our experiments demonstrated that DSiaT expression is restricted to a subset of CNS neurons throughout development. We found that DSiaT mutations result in significantly decreased life span, locomotor abnormalities, temperature-sensitive paralysis, and defects of neuromuscular junctions. Our results indicate that DSiaT regulates neuronal excitability and affects the function of a voltage-gated sodium channel. Finally, we showed that sialyltransferase activity is required for DSiaT function in vivo, which suggests that DSiaT mutant phenotypes result from a defect in sialylation of N-glycans. This work provided the first evidence that sialylation has an important biological function in protostomes, while also revealing a novel, nervous system-specific function of alpha2,6-sialylation. Thus, our data shed light on one of the most ancient functions of sialic acids in metazoan organisms and suggest a possibility that this function is evolutionarily conserved between flies and mammals.

Circadian rhythms of extracellular ATP accumulation in suprachiasmatic nucleus cells and cultured astrocytes.

The master circadian pacemaker located within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the mammalian brain controls system-level rhythms in animal physiology. Specific SCN outputs synchronize circadian physiological rhythms in other brain regions. Within the SCN, communication among neural cells provides for the coordination of autonomous cellular oscillations into ensemble rhythms. ATP is a neural transmitter involved in local communication among astrocytes and between astrocytes and neurons. Using a luciferin-luciferase chemiluminescence assay, we have demonstrated that ATP levels fluctuate rhythmically within both SCN2.2 cell cultures and the rat SCN in vivo. SCN2.2 cells generated circadian oscillations in both the production and extracellular accumulation of ATP. Circadian fluctuations in ATP accumulation persisted with an average period (tau) of 23.7 h in untreated as well as vehicle-treated and forskolin-treated SCN2.2 cells, indicating that treatment with an inductive stimulus is not necessary to propagate these rhythms. ATP levels in the rat SCN in vivo were marked by rhythmic variation during exposure to 12 h of light and 12 h of dark or constant darkness, with peak accumulation occurring during the latter half of the dark phase or subjective night. Primary cultures of cortical astrocytes similarly expressed circadian oscillations in extracellular ATP accumulation that persisted for multiple cycles with periods of about 23 h. These results suggest that circadian oscillations in extracellular ATP levels represent a physiological output of the mammalian cellular clock, common to the SCN pacemaker and astrocytes from at least some brain regions, and thus may provide a mechanism for clock control of gliotransmission between astrocytes and to neurons.

Effects of nerve injury and segmental regeneration on the cellular correlates of neural morphallaxis.

Functional recovery of neural networks after injury requires a series of signaling events similar to the embryonic processes that governed initial network construction. Neural morphallaxis, a form of nervous system regeneration, involves reorganization of adult neural connectivity patterns. Neural morphallaxis in the worm, Lumbriculus variegatus, occurs during asexual reproduction and segmental regeneration, as body fragments acquire new positional identities along the anterior-posterior axis. Ectopic head (EH) formation, induced by ventral nerve cord lesion, generated morphallactic plasticity including the reorganization of interneuronal sensory fields and the induction of a molecular marker of neural morphallaxis. Morphallactic changes occurred only in segments posterior to an EH. Neither EH formation, nor neural morphallaxis was observed after dorsal body lesions, indicating a role for nerve cord injury in morphallaxis induction. Furthermore, a hierarchical system of neurobehavioral control was observed, where anterior heads were dominant and an EH controlled body movements only in the absence of the anterior head. Both suppression of segmental regeneration and blockade of asexual fission, after treatment with boric acid, disrupted the maintenance of neural morphallaxis, but did not block its induction. Therefore, segmental regeneration (i.e., epimorphosis) may not be required for the induction of morphallactic remodeling of neural networks. However, on-going epimorphosis appears necessary for the long-term consolidation of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the morphallaxis of neural circuitry.

Transient electrical coupling regulates formation of neuronal networks.

Electrical synapses are abundant before and during developmental windows of intense chemical synapse formation, and might therefore contribute to the establishment of neuronal networks. Transient electrical coupling develops and is then eliminated between regenerating Helisoma motoneurons 110 and 19 during a period of 48-72 h in vivo and in vitro following nerve injury. An inverse relationship exists between electrical coupling and chemical synaptic transmission at these synapses, such that the decline in electrical coupling is coincident with the emergence of cholinergic synaptic transmission. In this study, we have generated two- and three-cell neuronal networks to test whether predicted synaptogenic capabilities were affected by previous synaptic interactions. Electrophysiological analyses demonstrated that synapses formed in three-cell neuronal networks were not those predicted based on synaptogenic outcomes in two-cell networks. Thus, new electrical and chemical synapse formation within a neuronal network is dependent on existing connectivity of that network. In addition, new contacts formed with established networks have little impact on these existing connections. These results suggest that network-dependent mechanisms, particularly those mediated by gap junctional coupling, regulate synapse formation within simple neural networks.

Manganese suppresses ATP-dependent intercellular calcium waves in astrocyte networks through alteration of mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum calcium dynamics.

The neurotoxicity of manganese [Mn] is due in part to glutamate excitotoxicity. Release of ATP by astrocytes is a critical modulator of glutamatergic neurotransmission, which is regulated by calcium (Ca(2+)) waves that propagate through astrocytic networks in response to synaptic activity. It was postulated that Mn alters ATP-dependent intracellular Ca(2+) dynamics in astrocytes, thereby suppressing Ca(2+) wave activity. Confluent primary cultures of cortical astrocytes were loaded with the Ca(2+)-sensitive dye fluo-4 and examined by fluorescence microscopy for Ca(2+) wave activity following micropipet mechanical stimulation of a single cell. Mitochondrial Ca(2+) was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy following addition of ATP using the mitochondrial-specific Ca(2+) dye rhod-2-AM. Imaging studies revealed that pretreatment of astrocytes with 1-10 microM Mn significantly reduced the rate, area, and amplitude of mechanically induced Ca(2+) waves. This attenuation was not a result of inhibited mitochondrial calcium uptake because robust calcium waves were still observed following pretreatment of astrocytes with Ru360, an inhibitor of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake, either in coupling or uncoupling conditions. However, determination of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca(2+) levels in cells using the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin indicated that Mn reduced the available pool of releasable ER Ca(2+) at concentrations as low as 1 muM. Examination of ATP-stimulated changes in mitochondrial Ca(2+) indicated that, in cells pretreated with Mn, mitochondria retained high levels of Ca(2+). It is concluded that exposure of astrocytes to low concentrations of Mn(2+) results in sequestration of Ca(2+) within the mitochondria that reduces the available pool of releasable Ca(2+) within the ER, thereby inhibiting calcium wave activity.

Modulation of intercellular calcium signaling by melatonin in avian and mammalian astrocytes is brain region-specific.

Calcium waves among glial cells impact many central nervous system functions, including neural integration and brain metabolism. Here, we characterized the modulatory effects of melatonin, a pineal neurohormone that mediates circadian and seasonal processes, on glial calcium waves derived from different brain regions and species. Diencephalic and telencephalic astrocytes, from both chick and mouse brains, expressed melatonin receptor proteins. Further, using the calcium-sensitive dye Fluo-4, we conducted real-time imaging analyses of calcium waves propagated among mammalian and avian astrocytes. Mouse diencephalic astrocytic calcium waves spread to an area 2-5-fold larger than waves among avian astrocytes and application of 10 nM melatonin caused a 32% increase in the spread of these mammalian calcium waves, similar to the 23% increase observed in chick diencephalic astrocytes. In contrast, melatonin had no effect on calcium waves in either avian or mammalian telencephalic astrocytes. Mouse telencephalic calcium waves radially spread from their initiation site among untreated astrocytes. However, waves meandered among mouse diencephalic astrocytes, taking heterogeneous paths at variable rates of propagation. Brain regional differences in wave propagation were abolished by melatonin, as diencephalic astrocytes acquired more telencephalon-like wave characteristics. Astrocytes cultured from different brain regions, therefore, possess fundamentally disparate mechanisms of calcium wave propagation and responses to melatonin. These results suggest multiple roles for melatonin receptors in the regulation of astroglial function, impacting specific brain regions differentially.

Circadian rhythms from multiple oscillators: lessons from diverse organisms.

The organization of biological activities into daily cycles is universal in organisms as diverse as cyanobacteria, fungi, algae, plants, flies, birds and man. Comparisons of circadian clocks in unicellular and multicellular organisms using molecular genetics and genomics have provided new insights into the mechanisms and complexity of clock systems. Whereas unicellular organisms require stand-alone clocks that can generate 24-hour rhythms for diverse processes, organisms with differentiated tissues can partition clock function to generate and coordinate different rhythms. In both cases, the temporal coordination of a multi-oscillator system is essential for producing robust circadian rhythms of gene expression and biological activity.

Regeneration and asexual reproduction share common molecular changes: upregulation of a neural glycoepitope during morphallaxis in Lumbriculus.

Neural morphallaxis is a regenerative process characterized by wide-spread anatomical and physiological changes in an adult nervous system. During segmental regeneration of the annelid worm, Lumbriculus variegatus, neural morphallaxis involved a reorganization of sensory, interneuronal, and motor systems as posterior fragments gained a more anterior body position. A monoclonal antibody, Lan 3-2, which labels a neural glyco-domain in the leech, was reactive in Lumbriculus. In the worm, this antibody labeled neural structures, particularly axonal tracts and giant fiber pathways of the central nervous system. A 60kDa protein, possessing a lumbriculid mannose-rich glycoepitope, was upregulated during neural morphallaxis, peaking in its expression at 3 weeks post-amputation. Peak upregulation of the Lan 3-2 epitope, or the protein possessing it, corresponded to the time of major neurobehavioral plasticity during regeneration. Analyses of asexually reproducing animals also revealed induction of the Lan 3-2 epitope. In this developmental context, Lan 3-2 epitope upregulation was also confined to segments expressing both changes in positional identity and neurobehavioral plasticity, but these molecular and behavioral changes occurred prior to body fragmentation. These results suggest that the lumbriculid Lan 3-2 glycoepitope and proteins that bear them have been co-opted for neural morphallactic programs, induced both in anticipation of reproductive fragmentation and in compensation for injury-induced fragmentation.

Electrical synapse formation disrupts calcium-dependent exocytosis, but not vesicle mobilization.

Electrical coupling exists prior to the onset of chemical connectivity at many developing and regenerating synapses. At cholinergic synapses in vitro, trophic factors facilitated the formation of electrical synapses and interfered with functional neurotransmitter release in response to photolytic elevations of intracellular calcium. In contrast, neurons lacking trophic factor induction and electrical coupling possessed flash-evoked transmitter release. Changes in cytosolic calcium and postsynaptic responsiveness to acetylcholine were not affected by electrical coupling. These data indicate that transient electrical synapse formation delayed chemical synaptic transmission by imposing a functional block between the accumulation of presynaptic calcium and synchronized, vesicular release. Despite the inability to release neurotransmitter, neurons that had possessed strong electrical coupling recruited secretory vesicles to sites of synaptic contact. These results suggest that the mechanism by which neurotransmission is disrupted during electrical synapse formation is downstream of both calcium influx and synaptic vesicle mobilization. Therefore, electrical synaptogenesis may inhibit synaptic vesicles from acquiring a readily releasable state. We hypothesize that gap junctions might negatively interact with exocytotic processes, thereby diminishing chemical neurotransmission.

Melatonin modulates intercellular communication among cultured chick astrocytes.

Melatonin, a pineal neurohormone, mediates circadian and seasonal processes in birds and mammals. Diencephalic astrocytes are sites of action, at least in birds, since they express melatonin receptors and melatonin affects their metabolism. We tested whether astrocytic calcium waves are also modulated by melatonin. Calcium waves, which we found to be regulated in cultured chick glial cells by an IP(3)-dependent mechanism, were potentiated by physiological concentrations of melatonin. Melatonin also increased resting calcium levels and reduced gap junctional coupling among astrocytes, at concentrations that facilitated calcium waves. These modulatory effects were diminished by melatonin receptor blockade and pertussis toxin (PTX). Thus, melatonin induced a functional shift in the mode of intercellular communication, between junctional coupling and calcium waves, among glial cells. We suggest a mechanism where neuroglial physiology, involving GTP-binding protein signaling pathways, links rhythmic circadian outputs to pervasive neurobehavioral states.

Transient electrical coupling delays the onset of chemical neurotransmission at developing synapses.

The formation and subsequent elimination of electrical coupling between neurons has been demonstrated in many developing vertebrate and invertebrate nervous systems. The relationship between the disappearance of electrical synaptic connectivity and the appearance of chemical neurotransmission is not well understood. We report here that identified motoneurons from the snail Helisoma formed transient electrical and chemical connections during regeneration both in vivo and in vitro. Electrical connections that formed in vivo were strongest by day 2 and no longer detectable by day 7. During elimination of this electrical connection, an inhibitory chemical connection from 110 onto 19 formed. This sequence of synaptic development was recapitulated in cell culture with a similar time course. The relationship between the appearance of transient electrical coupling and its possible effects on the subsequent chemical synaptogenesis were examined by reducing transient intercellular coupling. Trophic factor-deprived medium resulted in a 66% reduction in coupling coefficient. In these conditions, the unidirectional chemical connection formed readily; in contrast, chemical synaptogenesis was delayed in cell pairs exposed to trophic factors where transient electrical coupling was strong. Dye coupling and synaptic vesicle cycling studies supported electrophysiological results. Exposure to cholinergic antagonists, curare and hexamethonium bromide, which block chemical neurotransmission in these synapses, resulted in prolonged maintenance of the electrical connection. These studies demonstrated an inverse relationship between chemical and electrical connectivity at early stages of synaptic development and suggest a dynamic interaction between these forms of neuronal communication as adult neural networks are constructed or regenerated.