title: Cocultures of GFP(+) -granule cells with GFP(-) -pyramidal cells and interneurons for the study of mossy fiber neurotransmission with paired recordings.
abstract: Synaptic transmission of the granule cells (GCs) via their axons, the mossy fibers (MFs), is traditionally studied on acutely prepared or cultured slices. Usually, extracellular, bulk or minimal stimulation is used to evoke transmitter release from MF terminals, while recording from their postsynaptic target cells, the pyramidal cells and interneurons of CA3. However, the ideal method to assess MF neurotransmission, the simultaneous recording of a presynaptic GC and one of its target cells, is extremely difficult to achieve using slices. Alternatively, cultures of GCs establishing autapses have been developed, but in these, GCs do not contact their natural targets. We developed cocultures of GCs, dissociated from transgenic GFP(+) rats, with pyramidal cells and interneurons of CA3, dissociated from wild-type rats, and confirmed the expression of cell-specific markers by immunofluorescence. We conducted recordings of GFP(+) -GCs synaptically connected with their GFP(-) -target cells, and demonstrate that synaptic transmission and its plasticity have the signature of transmission of MF. Besides being strongly depressed by activation of mGluRs, high frequency activation of GC-to-pyramidal cells synapses undergo LTP, while GC-to-interneuron synapses undergo LTD. This coculture method allows a high reproducibility of recording connected pairs of identified cells, constituting a valuable tool to study MF transmission, as well as different combinations of identifiable pre- and postsynaptic cells.
authors: Department of Physiology, Biophysics and Neurosciences, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, México Distrito Federal 07360.
authors: Beatriz
authors: B
authors: Osorio
authors: Uriel
authors: U
authors: León
authors: Emilio J
authors: EJ
authors: Galván
authors: Rafael
authors: R
authors: Gutiérrez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology; D007395:Interneurons / Q000502:physiology*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D019599:Mossy Fibers, Hippocampal / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D055647:Rats, Transgenic; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins
keywords: CA3; LTP; cell cultures; hippocampus; synaptic transmission