A norepinephrine‐dependent glial calcium wave travels in the spinal cord upon acoustovestibular stimuli. Issue 3 (13th November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Orts‐Del'Immagine, Adeline; Dhanasekar, Mahalakshmi; Lejeune, François‐Xavier; Roussel, Julian; Wyart, Claire
• Is Part Of: Glia. Volume 70:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: 491
• Page End: 507
• Publication Date: 2021-11-13
• Subjects: astrocyte -- calcium wave -- escape -- glial fibrillary acidic protein -- hindbrain -- noradrenaline -- norepinephrine -- radial astrocyte -- radial glia -- spinal cord; Neuroglia -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; 611.0188
• DOI: 10.1002/glia.24118
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0894-1491

Abstract

Abstract: Although calcium waves have been widely observed in glial cells, their occurrence in vivo during behavior remains less understood. Here, we investigated the recruitment of glial cells in the hindbrain and spinal cord after acousto‐vestibular (AV) stimuli triggering escape responses using in vivo population calcium imaging in larval zebrafish. We observed that gap‐junction‐coupled spinal glial network exhibits large and homogenous calcium increases that rose in the rostral spinal cord and propagated bi‐directionally toward the spinal cord and toward the hindbrain. Spinal glial calcium waves were driven by the recruitment of neurons and in particular, of noradrenergic signaling acting through α‐adrenergic receptors. Noradrenergic neurons of the medulla‐oblongata (NE‐MO) were revealed in the vicinity of where the calcium wave started. NE‐MO were recruited upon AV stimulation and sent dense axonal projections in the rostro‐lateral spinal cord, suggesting these cells could trigger the glial wave to propagate down the spinal cord. Altogether, our results revealed that a simple AV stimulation is sufficient to recruit noradrenergic neurons in the brainstem that trigger in the rostral spinal cord two massive glial calcium waves, one traveling caudally in the spinal cord and another rostrally into the hindbrain. Main Points: Acoustovestibular stimuli trigger glial calcium waves starting in rostral spinal cord. Glial calcium waves require noradrenergic signaling in the hindbrain. Glial calcium waves propagate in the hindbrain and in the spinal cord via GAP junctions.