{"id":32137,"date":"2021-10-25T00:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T07:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vermont.salk.edu\/?post_type=disclosure&p=32137"},"modified":"2024-01-30T14:29:56","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T22:29:56","slug":"call-and-response-circuit-tells-neurons-when-to-grow-synapses","status":"publish","type":"disclosure","link":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/call-and-response-circuit-tells-neurons-when-to-grow-synapses\/","title":{"rendered":"Call-and-response circuit tells neurons when to grow synapses"},"content":{"rendered":"

LA JOLLA\u2014Brain cells called astrocytes play a key role in helping neurons develop and function properly, but there\u2019s still a lot scientists don\u2019t understand about how astrocytes perform these important jobs. Now, a team of scientists led by Associate Professor Nicola Allen<\/a> has found one way that neurons and astrocytes work together to form healthy connections called synapses. This insight into normal astrocyte function could help scientists better understand disorders linked to problems with neuronal development, including autism spectrum disorders. The study was published September 8, 2021, in the journal eLife<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Astrocytes<\/a>
Astrocytes (green) and neurons (magenta) closely interact in the developing cortex and signal to each other to ensure correct development.
Klicken Sie hier<\/a> f\u00fcr ein hochaufl\u00f6sendes Bild.
Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe know that astrocytes could play a role in neurodevelopmental disorders, so we wanted to ask: How are they playing a role in typical development?\u201d says Allen, a member of the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory. \u201cIn order to better understand the disorders, we first have to understand what happens normally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Synapses form critical connections between neurons, allowing neurons to send signals and information throughout the body. Astrocyte cells play a role in synapse development by giving neurons directions, such as telling them when to start growing a synapse, when to stop, when to prune it back, and when to stabilize the connection.<\/p>\n

Allen and her team took a closer look at how this process plays out in the visual cortex of the mouse brain. They sequenced the RNA of astrocytes at different stages of brain development to assess gene activity and compared it with neuronal synapse development. They found that astrocyte signaling was directly related to each stage of neuronal development. The researchers then wanted to know how the astrocytes knew to make these signals at the right time.<\/p>\n

\"Nicola
Nicola Allen.
Klicken Sie hier<\/a> f\u00fcr ein hochaufl\u00f6sendes Bild.
Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First, the researchers looked at what happened to the astrocytes when they changed the neurons\u2019 activity. To do this, they stopped neurons from releasing a neurotransmitter called glutamate that can signal to astrocytes, and this stopped the astrocytes from showing the typical developmental changes. Next, the scientists stopped the astrocytes from responding to neurotransmitters, and found this stopped the astrocytes from expressing the right signals. With both these manipulations, the development of synapses was also disrupted, in line with the changes observed in the astrocytes.<\/p>\n

Collectively, the findings suggest that astrocytes are responding to neurotransmitters produced by neurons to control the timing of when astrocytes produce signals to instruct neuronal development, according to Allen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes sense that you have this constant feedback going on between the neuron and the astrocyte,\u201d says Allen. \u201cThey are sending signals to each other: \u2018Am I in the right place?\u2019 \u2018Yes, you are.\u2019 \u2018I\u2019ve made a connection now\u2014do I keep it?\u2019 \u2018Yes, you do.\u2019 And they keep going back and forth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next, Allen and her team are studying whether these signals can be manipulated\u2014for example, to stimulate neurons to repair synapses or form new ones in disorders of aging, such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

Other authors included Isabella Farhy-Tselnicker, Matthew M. Boisvert, Hanqing Liu, Cari Dowling, Galina A. Erickson, Elena Blanco-Suarez, Maxim N. Shokhirev, and Joseph R. Ecker from Salk; and Chen Farhy from Sanford Burnham Prebys.<\/p>\n

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Hearst Foundations.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":32148,"template":"","faculty":[42,81],"disease-research":[124],"class_list":["post-32137","disclosure","type-disclosure","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","faculty-joseph-ecker","faculty-nicola-allen","disease-research-neuroscience-and-neurological-disorders"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCall-and-response circuit tells neurons when to grow synapses - Salk Institute for Biological Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/call-and-response-circuit-tells-neurons-when-to-grow-synapses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Call-and-response circuit tells neurons when to grow synapses - Salk Institute for Biological Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LA JOLLA\u2014Brain cells called astrocytes play a key role in helping neurons develop and function properly, but there\u2019s still a lot scientists don\u2019t understand about how astrocytes perform these important jobs. 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