Astrocytic mGluR5 Regulation of Synaptic Transmission is Activity‐Dependent in Adult Rats
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Data accumulated over the last two decades have demonstrated that astrocytes play key roles in the regulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity. This is due, among other mechanisms, to their capability to detect and regulate synaptic transmission by expressing receptors and releasing gliotransmitters, respectively. Importantly, in juvenile rats, astrocytes are able to detect glutamate release at the level of individual synapses through mGluR5 and consequently up-regulate excitatory synaptic transmission efficacy through the release of purines. Whether this upregulation is still present in the adult brain is an open question. Using immunohistochemistry and RNAscope on fixed tissue, as well as electrophysiological recordings on acute hippocampal brain slices of adult male rats, we demonstrated that this regulatory pathway also prevails in adult rats. Most surprisingly, such facilitation of glutamate release that is readily observed when a small number of synapses are activated was completely abolished under conditions where a large number of inputs were stimulated. These findings thus suggest that astrocytes integrate the incoming afferent information and adapt their responses depending on the network activity.
Source: Glia
DOI: 10.1002/glia.70162
Authors: Sarah Mountadem, Muna L. Hilal, Dylan Pommier, Dorian Arnouil, Valentin Clément Langlais, Vincent Simon, Aurélie Amadio, Marie Miegebielle, Sébastien Marais, Charlène Joséphine, Astrid Cannich, Marjorie Varilh, Julien Bourel, Daniela Cota, Giovanni Marsicano, Alexis‐Pierre Bemelmans, Philippe Ciofi, Stéphane Henri Richard Oliet, Aude Panatier
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,450
Awards: Role of the POMC-ventral striatal neurocircuit in the development of diet-induced obesity, Role and Cellular Physiology of New Excitatory Glycine Receptors in the Forebrain, Functional exploration of the astrocytic domain, Exosomes, a new astrocyte-neuron communication pathway with potential implications in Alzheimer’s disease, G6601077361, G7058085734, Neuron-astrocyte crosstalk through astrocytic neuroligins: the missing link?
OpenAlex ID: W7165024718