Cholinergic Interneurons Mediate Fast VGluT3-Dependent Glutamatergic Transmission in the Striatum

View/ Open
Author
Higley, Michael J.
Gittis, Aryn H.
Balthasar, Nina
Seal, Rebecca P.
Edwards, Robert H.
Kreitzer, Anatol C.
Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0019155Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Higley, Michael J., Aryn H. Gittis, Ian A. Oldenburg, Nina Balthasar, Rebecca P. Seal, Robert H. Edwards, Bradford B. Lowell, Anatol C. Kreitzer, and Bernardo L. Sabatini. 2011. Cholinergic interneurons mediate fast VGluT3-dependent glutamatergic transmission in the striatum. PLoS ONE 6(4): e19155.Abstract
The neurotransmitter glutamate is released by excitatory projection neurons throughout the brain. However, non-glutamatergic cells, including cholinergic and monoaminergic neurons, express markers that suggest that they are also capable of vesicular glutamate release. Striatal cholinergic interneurons (CINs) express the Type-3 vesicular glutamate transporter (VGluT3), although whether they form functional glutamatergic synapses is unclear. To examine this possibility, we utilized mice expressing Cre-recombinase under control of the endogenous choline acetyltransferase locus and conditionally expressed light-activated Channelrhodopsin2 in CINs. Optical stimulation evoked action potentials in CINs and produced postsynaptic responses in medium spiny neurons that were blocked by glutamate receptor antagonists. CIN-mediated glutamatergic responses exhibited a large contribution of NMDA-type glutamate receptors, distinguishing them from corticostriatal inputs. CIN-mediated glutamatergic responses were insensitive to antagonists of acetylcholine receptors and were not seen in mice lacking VGluT3. Our results indicate that CINs are capable of mediating fast glutamatergic transmission, suggesting a new role for these cells in regulating striatal activity.Other Sources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3081336/pdf/Terms of Use
This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAACitable link to this page
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:5028041
Collections
- HMS Scholarly Articles [17767]
Contact administrator regarding this item (to report mistakes or request changes)