Age-Dependent Heterogeneity of Murine Olfactory Bulb Astrocytes.

Astrocytes have a high impact on the structure of the central nervous system, as they control neural activity, development, and plasticity. Heterogeneity of astrocytes has been shown before, but so far only a few studies have demonstrated heterogeneous morphology of astrocytes concerning aging. In this study, we examined morphologic differences of astrocyte subpopulations in adult mice and the progression of these differences with age. We surveyed astrocytes in olfactory bulb slices of mice aged 3 months, 1 year and 2 years (three animals each age group), based on their appearance in anti-GFAP immunostaining. Based on this data we established three different types of astrocytes: type I (stellate), type II (elliptic), and type III (squid-like). We found that with the advanced age of the mice, astrocytes grow in size and complexity. Major changes occurred between the ages of 3 months and 1 year, while between 1 and 2 years no significant development in cell size and complexity could be detected. Our results show that astrocytes in the olfactory bulb are heterogeneous and undergo morphological transformation until late adolescence but not upon senescence. Structural plasticity is further substantiated by the expression of vimentin in some astrocyte processes in all age groups.

Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors in mouse olfactory bulb astrocytes.

Ca2+ signaling in astrocytes is considered to be mainly mediated by metabotropic receptors linked to intracellular Ca2+ release. However, recent studies demonstrate a significant contribution of Ca2+ influx to spontaneous and evoked Ca2+ signaling in astrocytes, suggesting that Ca2+ influx might account for astrocytic Ca2+ signaling to a greater extent than previously thought. Here, we investigated AMPA-evoked Ca2+ influx into olfactory bulb astrocytes in mouse brain slices using Fluo-4 and GCaMP6s, respectively. Bath application of AMPA evoked Ca2+ transients in periglomerular astrocytes that persisted after neuronal transmitter release was inhibited by tetrodotoxin and bafilomycin A1. Withdrawal of external Ca2+ suppressed AMPA-evoked Ca2+ transients, whereas depletion of Ca2+ stores had no effect. Both Ca2+ transients and inward currents induced by AMPA receptor activation were partly reduced by Naspm, a blocker of Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors lacking the GluA2 subunit. Antibody staining revealed a strong expression of GluA1 and GluA4 and a weak expression of GluA2 in periglomerular astrocytes. Our results indicate that Naspm-sensitive, Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors contribute to Ca2+ signaling in periglomerular astrocytes in the olfactory bulb.

Hierarchically structured superhydrophobic flowers with low hysteresis of the wild pansy (Viola tricolor) - new design principles for biomimetic materials.

Hierarchically structured flower leaves (petals) of many plants are superhydrophobic, but water droplets do not roll-off when the surfaces are tilted. On such surfaces water droplets are in the "Cassie impregnating wetting state", which is also known as the "petal effect". By analyzing the petal surfaces of different species, we discovered interesting new wetting characteristics of the surface of the flower of the wild pansy (Viola tricolor). This surface is superhydrophobic with a static contact angle of 169° and very low hysteresis, i.e., the petal effect does not exist and water droplets roll-off as from a lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) leaf. However, the surface of the wild pansy petal does not possess the wax crystals of the lotus leaf. Its petals exhibit high cone-shaped cells (average size 40 µm) with a high aspect ratio (2.1) and a very fine cuticular folding (width 260 nm) on top. The applied water droplets are in the Cassie-Baxter wetting state and roll-off at inclination angles below 5°. Fabricated hydrophobic polymer replicas of the wild pansy were prepared in an easy two-step moulding process and possess the same wetting characteristics as the original flowers. In this work we present a technical surface with a new superhydrophobic, low adhesive surface design, which combines the hierarchical structuring of petals with a wetting behavior similar to that of the lotus leaf.