Pathological consequences of chronic olfactory inflammation on neurite morphology of olfactory bulb projection neurons

Background : Chronic olfactory inflammation (COI) in conditions such as chronic rhinosinusitis significantly impairs the functional and anatomical components of the olfactory system. COI induced by intranasal administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) results in atrophy, gliosis, and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in the OB. Although chronic rhinosinusitis patients have smaller olfactory bulbs (OBs), the consequences of olfactory inflammation on OB neurons are largely unknown. Methods : In this study, we investigated the neurological consequence of COI on OB projection neurons, mitral cells (MCs) and tufted cells (TCs). To induce COI, we performed unilateral intranasal administration of LPS to mice for 4 and 10 weeks. Effects of COI on the OB were examined using RNA-sequencing approaches and immunohistochemical analyses. Results : We found that repeated LPS administration upregulated immune-related biological pathways in the OB after 4 weeks. We also determined that the length of TC lateral dendrites in the OB significantly decreased after 10 weeks of COI. The axon initial segment of TCs decreased in number and in length after 10 weeks of COI. The lateral dendrites and axon initial segments of MCs, however, were largely unaffected. In addition, dendritic arborization and axon initial segment reconstruction both took place following a 10-week recovery period. Conclusion : Our findings suggests that olfactory inflammation specifically affects TCs and their integrated circuitry, whereas MCs are potentially protected from this condition. This data demonstrates unique characteristics of the OBs ability to undergo neuroplastic changes in response to stress.

Pax6 regulates the morphological and electrophysiological development of mouse prethalamic neurons

SummaryPax6 is a well-known regulator of early neuroepithelial progenitor development. We discovered that it can also influence the later morphological and functional development of neurons in the prethalamus, which are unusual in retaining Pax6 expression as they mature. We used conditional mutagenesis to induce Pax6 loss-of-function mutations in prethalamic neurons and found that they showed developmental abnormalities when grown in vitro. Their rates of neurite elongation were disturbed and their axon initial segments were longer and extended further away from the soma than their control counterparts. They exhibited altered electrophysiological properties, including abnormal action potential (AP) waveforms and enhanced excitability, with abnormally low levels of current stimulus able to initiate APs. Our results significantly broaden the known functions of Pax6, suggesting that it has direct cell autonomous effects on the structural and functional development of some neurons. They provide new insights into the genetic regulation of the later stages of neurodevelopment.Graphical abstract

Endogenously expressed Ranbp2 (Nup358) is not at the axon initial segment

Ranbp2 (also known as Nup358) is a member of the nucleoporin family that comprises the nuclear pore complex. Ranbp2 localizes at the nuclear membrane and was recently reported at the axon initial segment (AIS). However, we show the anti-Ranbp2 antibody used in previous studies is not specific for Ranbp2. We mapped the antibody binding site to the amino acid sequence KPLQG that is present in both Ranbp2 and Neurofascin, a well-known AIS protein. After silencing Neurofascin expression in neurons, the AIS was not stained by the antibody. Surprisingly, an exogenously expressed N-terminal fragment of Ranbp2 localizes at the AIS. We show this fragment interacts with stable microtubules. Finally, using CRISPR-Cas9 in primary cultured neurons, we inserted an HA-epitope tag at N-terminal, C-terminal, or internal sites of the endogenously expressed Ranbp2. No matter the location of the HA-epitope, endogenous Ranbp2 was found at the nuclear membrane but not the AIS. These results show that endogenously expressed Ranbp2 is not found at axon initial segments.

Postnatal connectomic development of inhibition in mouse barrel cortex

Brain circuits in the neocortex develop from diverse types of neurons that migrate and form synapses. Here we quantify the circuit patterns of synaptogenesis for inhibitory interneurons in the developing mouse somatosensory cortex. We studied synaptic innervation of cell bodies, apical dendrites and axon initial segments using 3D electron microscopy focusing on the first four weeks postnatally (postnatal days 5 to 28). We found that innervation of apical dendrites occurs early and specifically: target preference is already almost at adult levels at the fifth postnatal day (P5). Axons innervating cell bodies, on the other hand, gradually acquire specificity from P5 to P9 likely via synaptic overabundance followed by antispecific synapse removal. Chandelier axons show first target preference by P14 but develop full target specificity almost completely by P28, consistent with a combination of axon outgrowth and off-target synapse removal. This connectomic developmental profile reveals how inhibitory axons in mouse cortex establish brain circuitry during development.

Tailoring of the axon initial segment shapes the conversion of synaptic inputs into spiking output in OFF-α T retinal ganglion cells

Recently, mouse OFF-α transient (OFF-α T) retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) were shown to display a gradient of light responses as a function of position along the dorsal-ventral axis; response differences were correlated to differences in the level of excitatory presynaptic input. Here, we show that postsynaptic differences between cells also make a strong contribution to response differences. Cells in the dorsal retina had longer axon initial segments (AISs)—the greater number of Nav1.6 channels in longer AISs directly mediates higher rates of spiking and helps avoid depolarization block that terminates spiking in ventral cells with shorter AISs. The pre- and postsynaptic specializations that shape the output of OFF-α T RGCs interact in different ways: In dorsal cells, strong inputs and the long AISs are both necessary to generate their strong, sustained spiking outputs, while in ventral cells, weak inputs or the short AISs are both sufficient to limit the spiking signal.

Increased axon initial segment length results in increased Na+ currents in spinal motoneurones at symptom onset in the G127X SOD1 mouse model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease preferentially affecting motoneurones. Transgenic mouse models have been used to investigate the role of abnormal motoneurone excitability in this disease. Whilst an increased excitability has repeatedly been demonstrated in vitro in neonatal and embryonic preparations from SOD1 mouse models, the results from the only studies to record in vivo from spinal motoneurones in adult SOD1 models have produced conflicting findings. Deficits in repetitive firing have been reported in G93A SOD1 mice but not in presymptomatic G127X SOD1 mice despite shorter motoneurone axon initial segments (AISs) in these mice.These discrepancies may be due to the earlier disease onset and prolonged disease progression in G93A SOD1 mice with recordings potentially performed at a later sub-clinical stage of the disease in this mouse. To test this, and to explore how the evolution of excitability changes with symptom onset we performed in vivo intracellular recording and AIS labelling in G127X SOD1 mice immediately after symptom onset. No reductions in repetitive firing were observed showing that this is not a common feature across all ALS models. Immunohistochemistry for the Na+ channel Nav1.6 showed that motoneurone AISs increase in length in G127X SOD1 mice at symptom onset. Consistent with this, the rate of rise of AIS components of antidromic action potentials were significantly faster confirming that this increase in length represents an increase in AIS Na+ channels occurring at symptom onset in this model.HighightsIn vivo electrophysiological recordings were made in symptomatic G127X SOD1 mice.There were no deficits in repetitive firing in motoneurones in G127X mice.Increased persistent inward currents were still present in the symptomatic mice.Results suggest increases in Na+ currents at axon initial segments (AISs).Immunohistochemistry showed that motoneurone AISs were longer and thinner.

β spectrin-dependent and domain specific mechanisms for Na+ channel clustering

Previously, we showed that a hierarchy of spectrin cytoskeletal proteins maintains nodal Na+ channels (Liu et al., 2020). Here, using mice lacking β1, β4, or β1/β4 spectrins, we show this hierarchy does not function at axon initial segments (AIS). Although β1 spectrin, together with AnkyrinR (AnkR), compensates for loss of nodal β4 spectrin, it cannot compensate at AIS. We show AnkR lacks the domain necessary for AIS localization. Whereas loss of β4 spectrin causes motor impairment and disrupts AIS, loss of β1 spectrin has no discernable effect on central nervous system structure or function. However, mice lacking both neuronal β1 and β4 spectrin show exacerbated nervous system dysfunction compared to mice lacking β1 or β4 spectrin alone, including profound disruption of AIS Na+ channel clustering, progressive loss of nodal Na+ channels, and seizures. These results further define the important role of AIS and nodal spectrins for nervous system function.

Cytoskeletal organization of axons in vertebrates and invertebrates

The maintenance of axons for the lifetime of an organism requires an axonal cytoskeleton that is robust but also flexible to adapt to mechanical challenges and to support plastic changes of axon morphology. Furthermore, cytoskeletal organization has to adapt to axons of dramatically different dimensions, and to their compartment-specific requirements in the axon initial segment, in the axon shaft, at synapses or in growth cones. To understand how the cytoskeleton caters to these different demands, this review summarizes five decades of electron microscopic studies. It focuses on the organization of microtubules and neurofilaments in axon shafts in both vertebrate and invertebrate neurons, as well as the axon initial segments of vertebrate motor- and interneurons. Findings from these ultrastructural studies are being interpreted here on the basis of our contemporary molecular understanding. They strongly suggest that axon architecture in animals as diverse as arthropods and vertebrates is dependent on loosely cross-linked bundles of microtubules running all along axons, with only minor roles played by neurofilaments.