Anxiety control by astrocytes in the lateral habenula

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

  • Wanqin Tan
  • Yoko Ikoma
  • Yusuke Takahashi
  • Ayumu Konno
  • Hirokazu Hirai
  • Hirase, Hajime
  • Ko Matsui
The potential role of astrocytes in lateral habenula (LHb) in modulating anxiety was explored in this study. The habenula are a pair of small nuclei located above the thalamus, known for their involvement in punishment avoidance and anxiety. Herein, we observed an increase in theta-band oscillations of local field potentials (LFPs) in the LHb when mice were exposed to anxiety-inducing environments. Electrical stimulation of LHb at theta-band frequency promoted anxiety-like behavior. Calcium (Ca2+) levels and pH in the cytosol of astrocytes and local brain blood volume changes were studied in mice expressing either a Ca2+ or a pH sensor protein specifically in astrocytes and mScarlet fluorescent protein in the blood plasma using fiber photometry. An acidification response to anxiety was observed. Photoactivation of archaerhopsin-T (ArchT), an optogenetic tool that acts as an outward proton pump, results in intracellular alkalinization. Photostimulation of LHb in astrocyte-specific ArchT-expressing mice resulted in dissipation of theta-band LFP oscillation in an anxiogenic environment and suppression of anxiety-like behavior. These findings provide evidence that LHb astrocytes modulate anxiety and may offer a new target for treatment of anxiety disorders.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftNeuroscience Research
ISSN0168-0102
DOI
StatusE-pub ahead of print - 2024

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
We are thankful to all members of the Ko Matsui laboratory for their invaluable assistance at every stage of the experiments. This work was supported by JST , the establishment of university fellowships towards the creation of science technology innovation, Grant Number JPMJFS2102 (to W.T.), Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists 22K15218 (to Y.I.), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) 22K06454 (to A.K.), Brain Mapping by Integrated Neurotechnologies for Disease Studies (Brain/MINDS) from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) JP21dm0207111 (Hi.H.), Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A) "Glial Decoding": 20H05896 (to K.M.), "Biology of Behavior Change" : 23H04659 (to K.M.), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas "Brain Information Dynamics" : 18H05110 , 20H05046 (to K.M.), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B): 19H03338 , 22H02713 (to K.M.), Research Foundation for Opto-Science and Technology (to K.M.), Takeda Science Foundation (to K.M.), and the Uehara Memorial Foundation (to K.M.).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors

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