Loss of glutamate transporter eaat2a leads to aberrant neuronal excitability, recurrent epileptic seizures, and basal hypoactivity.

Astroglial excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2, GLT-1, and SLC1A2) regulates the duration and extent of neuronal excitation by removing glutamate from the synaptic cleft. Hence, an impairment in EAAT2 function could lead to an imbalanced brain network excitability. Here, we investigated the functional alterations of neuronal and astroglial networks associated with the loss of function in the astroglia predominant eaat2a gene in zebrafish. We observed that eaat2a-/- mutant zebrafish larvae display recurrent spontaneous and light-induced seizures in neurons and astroglia, which coincide with an abrupt increase in extracellular glutamate levels. In stark contrast to this hyperexcitability, basal neuronal and astroglial activity was surprisingly reduced in eaat2a-/- mutant animals, which manifested in decreased overall locomotion. Our results reveal an essential and mechanistic contribution of EAAT2a in balancing brain excitability, and its direct link to epileptic seizures.

Elevated photic response is followed by a rapid decay and depressed state in ictogenic networks.

OBJECTIVE: The switch between nonseizure and seizure states involves profound alterations in network excitability and synchrony. In this study, we aimed to identify and compare features of neural excitability and dynamics across multiple zebrafish seizure and epilepsy models. METHODS: Inspired by video-electroencephalographic recordings in patients, we developed a framework to study spontaneous and photically evoked neural and locomotor activity in zebrafish larvae, by combining high-throughput behavioral tracking and whole-brain in vivo two-photon calcium imaging. RESULTS: Our setup allowed us to dissect behavioral and physiological features that are divergent or convergent across multiple models. We observed that spontaneous locomotor and neural activity exhibit great diversity across models. Nonetheless, during photic stimulation, hyperexcitability and rapid response dynamics were well conserved across multiple models, highlighting the reliability of photically evoked activity for high-throughput assays. Intriguingly, in several models, we observed that the initial elevated photic response is often followed by rapid decay of neural activity and a prominent depressed state. Elevated photic response and following depressed state in seizure-prone networks are significantly reduced by the antiseizure medication valproic acid. Finally, rapid decay and depression of neural activity following photic stimulation temporally overlap with slow recruitment of astroglial calcium signals that are enhanced in seizure-prone networks. SIGNIFICANCE: We argue that fast decay of neural activity and depressed states following photic response are likely due to homeostatic mechanisms triggered by excessive neural activity. An improved understanding of the interplay between elevated and depressed excitability states might suggest tailored epilepsy therapies.

Reflective multi-immersion microscope objectives inspired by the Schmidt telescope.

Imaging large, cleared samples requires microscope objectives that combine a large field of view (FOV) with a long working distance (WD) and a high numerical aperture (NA). Ideally, such objectives should be compatible with a wide range of immersion media, which is challenging to achieve with conventional lens-based objective designs. Here we introduce the multi-immersion 'Schmidt objective' consisting of a spherical mirror and an aspherical correction plate as a solution to this problem. We demonstrate that a multi-photon variant of the Schmidt objective is compatible with all homogeneous immersion media and achieves an NA of 1.08 at a refractive index of 1.56, 1.1-mm FOV and 11-mm WD. We highlight its versatility by imaging cleared samples in various media ranging from air and water to benzyl alcohol/benzyl benzoate, dibenzyl ether and ethyl cinnamate and by imaging of neuronal activity in larval zebrafish in vivo. In principle, the concept can be extended to any imaging modality, including wide-field, confocal and light-sheet microscopy.

Volumetric optoacoustic neurobehavioral tracking of epileptic seizures in freely-swimming zebrafish larvae.

Fast three-dimensional imaging of freely-swimming zebrafish is essential to understand the link between neuronal activity and behavioral changes during epileptic seizures. Studying the complex spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal activity at the whole-brain or -body level typically requires physical restraint, thus hindering the observation of unperturbed behavior. Here we report on real-time volumetric optoacoustic imaging of aberrant circular swimming activity and calcium transients in freely behaving zebrafish larvae, continuously covering their motion across an entire three-dimensional region. The high spatiotemporal resolution of the technique enables capturing ictal-like epileptic seizure events and quantifying their propagation speed, independently validated with simultaneous widefield fluorescence recordings. The work sets the stage for discerning functional interconnections between zebrafish behavior and neuronal activity for studying fundamental mechanisms of epilepsy and in vivo validation of treatment strategies.

Shaping of Signal Transmission at the Photoreceptor Synapse by EAAT2 Glutamate Transporters.

Photoreceptor ribbon synapses tonically release glutamate. To ensure efficient signal transmission and prevent glutamate toxicity, a highly efficient glutamate removal system provided by members of the SLC1 gene family is required. By using a combination of biophysical and in vivo studies, we elucidate the role of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2) proteins in synaptic glutamate homeostasis at the zebrafish photoreceptor synapse. The main glutamate sink is provided by the glial EAAT2a, reflected by reduced electroretinographic responses in EAAT2a-depleted larvae. EAAT2b is located on the tips of cone pedicles and contributes little to glutamate reuptake. However, this transporter displays both a large chloride conductance and leak current, being important in stabilizing the cone resting potential. This work demonstrates not only how proteins originating from the same gene family can complement each other's expression profiles and biophysical properties, but also how presynaptic and glial transporters are coordinated to ensure efficient synaptic transmission at glutamatergic synapses of the central nervous system.