Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, College of Medicine, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA.
Brain Res. 2019 Aug 15;1717:95-103. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.04.006. Epub 2019 Apr 17.
In animal models for fragile X syndrome where the gene for fragile X mental retardation protein is knocked out (Fmr1 KO), neurotransmission in multiple brain regions shifts excitation/inhibition balance, resulting in hyperexcitability in neural circuits. Here, using whole-cell recordings from brainstem slices, we investigated synaptic transmission at the medial nucleus of trapezoid body (MNTB, a critical nucleus in the brainstem sound localization circuit), in Fmr1 KO and wild-type (WT) mice 2-3 weeks of age in both sexes. Surprisingly, neither synaptic excitation nor inhibition in KO neurons was significantly changed. The synaptic strength, kinetics, and short-term plasticity of synaptic excitation remained largely unaltered. Subtle differences were observed in response patterns, with KO neurons displaying less all-or-none eEPSCs. Similarly, synaptic inhibition mediated by glycine and GABA remains largely unchanged, except for a slower kinetics of mixed sIPSCs. In pharmacologically isolated glycinergic and GABAergic inhibition, no significant differences in synaptic strength and kinetics were detected between the two genotypes. These results demonstrate that at the cellular level synaptic transmission at MNTB is largely unaffected in Fmr1 KO mice by 2-3 weeks after birth, suggesting the existence of compensatory mechanisms that maintain the inhibitory output of MNTB to its targets in the auditory brainstem.
在脆性 X 综合征的动物模型中,脆性 X 智力迟钝蛋白基因被敲除(Fmr1 KO),多个脑区的神经传递会改变兴奋/抑制平衡,导致神经回路过度兴奋。在这里,我们使用脑干切片的全细胞记录,研究了 Fmr1 KO 和野生型(WT)小鼠在 2-3 周龄的两性中,中脑梯形体(MNTB,脑干声音定位回路中的关键核)中的突触传递。令人惊讶的是,KO 神经元中的突触兴奋和抑制均无明显变化。KO 神经元的突触强度、动力学和短期可塑性的突触兴奋仍然基本不变。在反应模式中观察到细微差异,KO 神经元显示出较少的全或无 eEPSC。同样,由甘氨酸和 GABA 介导的抑制性突触传递基本不变,除了混合 sIPSC 的动力学较慢。在药理学上分离的甘氨酸能和 GABA 能抑制中,两种基因型之间的突触强度和动力学没有明显差异。这些结果表明,在出生后 2-3 周,MNTB 的细胞水平突触传递在 Fmr1 KO 小鼠中基本不受影响,表明存在补偿机制,可维持 MNTB 对其听觉脑干靶标的抑制输出。
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