Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, United States.
Elife. 2018 Dec 31;7:e42519. doi: 10.7554/eLife.42519.
Neuronal networks generating hindlimb locomotion are located in the spinal cord. The mechanisms underlying spinal rhythmogenesis are unknown but network activity and interconnectivity of excitatory interneurons likely play prominent roles. Here, we investigate interconnectivity within the Shox2 interneuron population, a subset of which has been suggested to be involved in locomotor rhythm generation, using paired recordings in isolated spinal cords or slices from transgenic mice. Sparse unidirectional connections consistent with chemical synaptic transmission and prominent bidirectional connections mediated by electrical synapses were present within distinct subsets of Shox2 interneurons. Moreover, bidirectional electrical connections were preferentially found between functionally-related Shox2 interneurons. Though prevalent in neonatal mice, electrical coupling began to decline in incidence and strength in mice ~ 3 weeks of age. Overall, our data suggest that gap junctional coupling promotes synchronization of Shox2 interneurons, and may be implicated in locomotor rhythmicity in developing mice.
产生后肢运动的神经网络位于脊髓中。虽然脊髓节律产生的机制尚不清楚,但网络活动和兴奋性中间神经元的互联性可能起着重要作用。在这里,我们使用分离的脊髓或转基因小鼠切片中的成对记录来研究 Shox2 中间神经元群体内的互联性,其中一部分中间神经元被认为参与运动节律的产生。在 Shox2 中间神经元的不同亚群中存在稀疏的单向连接,这与化学突触传递一致,并且存在明显的双向连接,由电突触介导。此外,双向电连接优先存在于功能相关的 Shox2 中间神经元之间。尽管在新生小鼠中普遍存在,但电耦合并发率和强度在 3 周龄左右的小鼠中开始下降。总的来说,我们的数据表明缝隙连接耦合并促进 Shox2 中间神经元的同步,并且可能与发育中小鼠的运动节律性有关。