Скачать или смотреть Simultaneous recordings of intracellular calcium in astrocytes and extracellular ATP

Once thought to play a supporting function in the brain, new research shows non-neuronal astroglial cells perform a leading role in regulating the activity of neurons and their connections.

In 2019, Janelia researchers uncovered the critical role of glial cells called radial astrocytes in controlling an important “giving up” behavior in zebrafish. They found astrocytes act as a counter, telling a fish to stop swimming when it isn’t getting anywhere – a behavior crucial for survival. But scientists didn’t know how the astrocytes communicated with neurons to control this action.

Researchers from Janelia and Harvard have now deciphered this conversation, revealing how astrocytes trigger a biochemical circuit that regulates neuronal activity and causes the fish to stop swimming.

The new research finds that when calcium is elevated in astrocytes, ATP is released into the extracellular space between cells, as seen in this movie.

The researchers further showed that astrocytes released this ATP and that an extracellular pathway breaks down ATP into adenosine, which activates receptors on neurons that cause the fish to give up and stop swimming.

Credit: Chen et al.