Neuroepithelial progenitors generate and propagate non-neuronal action potentials across the spinal cord

+/Ca++ action potentials. Unlike neurons, floor-plate action potentials relied primarily on the activation of voltage-gated T-type calcium channels (TTCCs). In situ hybridization showed that all 3 known subtypes of TTCCs are highly and predominantly expressed in the floor-plate. During SNA, we found...

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Published inbioRxiv
Main Authors Kalaimakan, Hervé Arulkandarajah, Osterstock, Guillaume, Lafont, Agathe, Hervé Le Corronc, Escalas, Nathalie, Corsini, Silvia, Barbara Le Bras, Boeri, Juliette, Czarnecki, Antonny, Mouffle, Christine, Bullier, Erika, Hong, Elim, Soula, Cathy, Legendre, Pascal, Mangin, Jean-Marie
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 22.12.2020
Subjects
Acetylcholine
Calcium channels
Calcium channels (T-type)
Calcium channels (voltage-gated)
Calcium signalling
Central nervous system
Depolarization
Epithelium
Fetuses
Floor plate
Gap junctions
Glial cells
Glial stem cells
Motor neurons
Nervous system
Neural stem cells
Neurogenesis
Neuronal-glial interactions
Sodium channels
Sodium channels (voltage-gated)
Spinal cord
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Summary:+/Ca++ action potentials. Unlike neurons, floor-plate action potentials relied primarily on the activation of voltage-gated T-type calcium channels (TTCCs). In situ hybridization showed that all 3 known subtypes of TTCCs are highly and predominantly expressed in the floor-plate. During SNA, we found that acetylcholine released by motoneurons recurrently trigger floor-plate action potentials by acting through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Finally, by expressing the genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP6f in the floor plate, we demonstrated that neuroepithelial action potentials are associated with calcium waves and propagate along the entire length of the spinal cord. By unraveling a novel physiological mechanism generating electrical signals which can propagate independently from neurons across a neural structure, our work significantly changes our understanding of the development, origin and extent of electrical signaling in the central nervous system. HIGHLIGHTS * Spinal neuroepithelial progenitors (NEP) are depolarized during spontaneous neural activity * NEPs form a single electrical syncytium connected by gap junctions * Floor-plate NEPs generate large Na+/Ca++ action potentials in response to acetylcholine * Neuroepithelial action potentials propagate across the entire spinal cord Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
DOI:10.1101/2020.05.23.111955