RESUMEN
The specific roles that different types of neurons play in recovery from injury is poorly understood. Here, we show that increasing the excitability of ipsilaterally projecting, excitatory V2a neurons using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) restores rhythmic bursting activity to a previously paralyzed diaphragm within hours, days, or weeks following a C2 hemisection injury. Further, decreasing the excitability of V2a neurons impairs tonic diaphragm activity after injury as well as activation of inspiratory activity by chemosensory stimulation, but does not impact breathing at rest in healthy animals. By examining the patterns of muscle activity produced by modulating the excitability of V2a neurons, we provide evidence that V2a neurons supply tonic drive to phrenic circuits rather than increase rhythmic inspiratory drive at the level of the brainstem. Our results demonstrate that the V2a class of neurons contribute to recovery of respiratory function following injury. We propose that altering V2a excitability is a potential strategy to prevent respiratory motor failure and promote recovery of breathing following spinal cord injury.
Asunto(s)
Diafragma , Traumatismos de la Médula Espinal , Animales , Ratones , Tronco Encefálico , Cafeína , Neuronas , NiacinamidaRESUMEN
Chx10-expressing V2a (Chx10+V2a) spinal interneurons play a large role in the excitatory drive of motoneurons. Chemogenetic ablation studies have demonstrated the essential nature of Chx10+V2a interneurons in the regulation of locomotor initiation, maintenance, alternation, speed, and rhythmicity. The role of Chx10+V2a interneurons in locomotion and autonomic nervous system regulation is thought to be robust, but their precise role in spinal motor regulation and spinal cord injury have not been fully explored. The present paper reviews the origin, characteristics, and functional roles of Chx10+V2a interneurons with an emphasis on their involvement in the pathogenesis of spinal cord injury. The diverse functional properties of these cells have only been substantiated by and are due in large part to their integration in a variety of diverse spinal circuits. Chx10+V2a interneurons play an integral role in conferring locomotion, which integrates various corticospinal, mechanosensory, and interneuron pathways. Moreover, accumulating evidence suggests that Chx10+V2a interneurons also play an important role in rhythmic patterning maintenance, left-right alternation of central pattern generation, and locomotor pattern generation in higher order mammals, likely conferring complex locomotion. Consequently, the latest research has focused on postinjury transplantation and noninvasive stimulation of Chx10+V2a interneurons as a therapeutic strategy, particularly in spinal cord injury. Finally, we review the latest preclinical study advances in laboratory derivation and stimulation/transplantation of these cells as a strategy for the treatment of spinal cord injury. The evidence supports that the Chx10+V2a interneurons act as a new therapeutic target for spinal cord injury. Future optimization strategies should focus on the viability, maturity, and functional integration of Chx10+V2a interneurons transplanted in spinal cord injury foci.
RESUMEN
Shared lineage has diverse effects on patterns of neuronal connectivity. In mammalian cortex, excitatory sister neurons assemble into shared microcircuits. In Drosophila, in contrast, sister neurons with different levels of Notch expression (NotchON/NotchOFF) develop distinct identities and diverge into separate circuits. Notch-differentiated sister neurons have been observed in vertebrate spinal cord and cerebellum, but whether they integrate into shared or distinct circuits remains unknown. Here, we evaluate how sister V2a (NotchOFF)/V2b (NotchON) neurons in the zebrafish integrate into spinal circuits. Using an in vivo labeling approach, we identified pairs of sister V2a/b neurons born from individual Vsx1+ progenitors and observed that they have somata in close proximity to each other and similar axonal trajectories. However, paired whole-cell electrophysiology and optogenetics revealed that sister V2a/b neurons receive input from distinct presynaptic sources, do not communicate with each other, and connect to largely distinct targets. These results resemble the divergent connectivity in Drosophila and represent the first evidence of Notch-differentiated circuit integration in a vertebrate system.
The brain is populated by neurons which are generated during embryonic development from cells called progenitors. Neurons that come from the same progenitor cell are considered to be 'sisters'. In certain brain regions of mice, sister neurons are often wired into shared networks, meaning they are more likely to receive input from the same neurons and connect with each other than non-sister cells. In contrast, in invertebrate animals, like the fruit fly, sister neurons often have different identities and are less likely to connect with each other. This may be because sister neurons in fruit flies often have varied levels of a protein called Notch, which plays an important role in establishing the identity of cells. Vertebrate and invertebrate animals are different in many respects, and it remained unclear whether Notch levels dictate which sister neurons connect together in vertebrates as they do in fruit flies. To investigate, Bello-Rojas and Bagnall studied two neurons in the spinal cord of zebrafish embryos which come from the same type of progenitor cell: the V2a neuron which has low levels of Notch, and the V2b neuron which has high levels of Notch. Fish, like humans, are vertebrates; however, their embryos are mostly transparent, making it easier to track how their neurons make connections during development using a microscope. This enabled Bello-Rojas and Bagnall to monitor whether V2a and V2b sister neurons joined the same network, like in other vertebrates, or different networks, akin to sister neurons in fruit flies which also have differing levels of Notch. Bello-Rojas and Bagnall found that sister V2a and V2b neurons stayed close to one another and seemed to connect through similar paths. However, closer investigation revealed that the sister neurons did not receive input from the same source. They also did not connect to each other or the same output neuron, suggesting that V2a and V2b sister neurons are part of different networks. This is the first time Notch levels have been shown to regulate which network a neuron will join in a vertebrate species. Since the V2a and V2b neurons are involved in controlling body movement, future work should determine whether adding progenitor cells that produce these neurons into the spinal cord could help the neuron network recover after injury or disease.
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Interneuronas , Pez Cebra , Animales , Pez Cebra/metabolismo , Interneuronas/fisiología , Neuronas , Diferenciación Celular , Médula Espinal/fisiología , MamíferosRESUMEN
Breathing requires precise control of respiratory muscles to ensure adequate ventilation. Neurons within discrete regions of the brainstem produce oscillatory activity to control the frequency of breathing. Less is understood about how spinal and pontomedullary networks modulate the activity of respiratory motor neurons to produce different patterns of activity during different behaviors (i.e., during exercise, coughing, swallowing, vocalizing, or at rest) or following disease or injury. Here, we use a chemogenetic approach to inhibit the activity of glutamatergic V2a neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord of neonatal and adult mice to assess their potential roles in respiratory rhythm generation and patterning respiratory muscle activity. Using whole-body plethysmography (WBP), we show that V2a neuron function is required in neonatal mice to maintain the frequency and regularity of respiratory rhythm. However, silencing V2a neurons in adult mice increases respiratory frequency and ventilation, without affecting regularity. Thus, the excitatory drive provided by V2a neurons is less critical for respiratory rhythm generation in adult compared to neonatal mice. In addition, we used simultaneous EMG recordings of the diaphragm and extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscles in conscious adult mice to examine the role of V2a neurons in patterning respiratory muscle activity. We find that silencing V2a neurons activates extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscles at rest, when they are normally inactive, with little impact on diaphragm activity. Thus, our results indicate that V2a neurons participate in a circuit that serves to constrain the activity of extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscles so that they are active only when needed.
Asunto(s)
Bulbo Raquídeo/fisiología , Neuronas/fisiología , Respiración , Músculos Respiratorios/fisiología , Médula Espinal/fisiología , Animales , Masculino , Ratones Transgénicos , Músculos Respiratorios/inervaciónRESUMEN
Inspiratory accessory respiratory muscles (ARMs) enhance ventilation when demands are high, such as during exercise and/or pathological conditions. Despite progressive degeneration of phrenic motor neurons innervating the diaphragm, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients and rodent models are able to maintain ventilation at early stages of disease. In order to assess the contribution of ARMs to respiratory compensation in ALS, we examined the activity of ARMs and ventilation throughout disease progression in SOD1G93A ALS model mice at rest using a combination of electromyography and unrestrained whole body plethysmography. Increased ARM activity, accompanied by increased ventilation, is observed beginning at the onset of symptoms. However, ARM recruitment fails to occur at rest at late stages of disease, even though the same ARMs are used for other behaviors. Using a chemogenetic approach, we demonstrate that a glutamatergic class of neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord, the V2a class, is sufficient to drive increased ARM activity at rest in healthy mice. Additionally, we reveal pathology in the medial reticular formation of the brainstem of SOD1G93A mice using immunohistochemistry and confocal imaging. Both spinal and brainstem V2a neurons degenerate in ALS model mice, accompanied by regional activation of astrocytes and microglia. These results establish inspiratory ARM recruitment as one of the compensatory mechanisms that maintains breathing at early stages of disease and indicate that V2a neuron degeneration may contribute to ARM failure at late stages of disease.