Neuron
Volume 88, Issue 5, 2 December 2015, Pages 957-972
Journal home page for Neuron

Article
Synaptic Integration of Adult-Born Hippocampal Neurons Is Locally Controlled by Astrocytes

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.10.037Get rights and content
Under an Elsevier user license
open archive

Highlights

  • Astrocytes control the dendritic maturation and survival of adult-born neurons

  • Astrocytes locally regulate the formation of dendritic spines on adult-born neurons

  • Astrocytes regulate the functional synaptic integration of adult-born neurons

  • These effects are mediated by the astrocytic vesicular release of D-serine

Summary

Adult neurogenesis is regulated by the neurogenic niche, through mechanisms that remain poorly defined. Here, we investigated whether niche-constituting astrocytes influence the maturation of adult-born hippocampal neurons using two independent transgenic approaches to block vesicular release from astrocytes. In these models, adult-born neurons but not mature neurons showed reduced glutamatergic synaptic input and dendritic spine density that was accompanied with lower functional integration and cell survival. By taking advantage of the mosaic expression of transgenes in astrocytes, we found that spine density was reduced exclusively in segments intersecting blocked astrocytes, revealing an extrinsic, local control of spine formation. Defects in NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-mediated synaptic transmission and dendrite maturation were partially restored by exogenous D-serine, whose extracellular level was decreased in transgenic models. Together, these results reveal a critical role for adult astrocytes in local dendritic spine maturation, which is necessary for the NMDAR-dependent functional integration of newborn neurons.

Cited by (0)