| Autor: |
Mika Tanaka, Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, Tetsuya Tatsukawa, Chieko Nishioka, Hiroshi Nishiyama, Martin Theis, Klaus Willecke, Shigeyoshi Itohara |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Rok vydání: |
2008 |
| Předmět: |
|
| Zdroj: |
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 2 (2008) |
| Druh dokumentu: |
article |
| ISSN: |
1662-5153 |
| DOI: |
10.3389/neuro.08.001.2008 |
| Popis: |
Bergmann glial cells are specialized astrocytes in the cerebellum. In the mature cerebellar molecular layer, Bergmann glial processes are closely associated with Purkinje cells, enclosing Purkinje cell dendritic synapses with a glial sheath. There is intensive gap junctional coupling between Bergmann glial processes, but their significance in cerebellar functions is not known. Connexin43 (Cx43), a major component of astrocytic gap junction channels, is abundantly expressed in Bergmann glial cells. To examine the role of Cx43-mediated gap junctions between Bergmann glial cells in cerebellar functions, we generated Cx43 conditional knockout mice with the S100b-Cre transgenic line (Cx43fl/fl:S100b-Cre), which exhibited a significant loss of Cx43 in the Bergmann glial cells and astrocytes in the cerebellum with a postnatal onset. The Cx43fl/fl:S100b-Cre mice had normal cerebellar architecture. Although gap junctional coupling between the Bergmann glial cells measured by spreading of microinjected Lucifer yellow was virtually abolished in Cx43fl/fl:S100b-Cre mice, electrophysiologic analysis revealed that cerebellar long-term depression could be induced and maintained normally in thier cerebellar slices. In addition, at the behavioral level, Cx43fl/fl:S100b-Cre mice had normal motor coordination in the rotarod task and normal conditioned eyelid response. Our findings suggest that Cx43-mediated gap junctional coupling between Bergmann glial cells is not necessary for the neuron-glia interactions required for cerebellum-dependent motor coordination and motor learning. |
| Databáze: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
| Externí odkaz: |
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