The lacunar glial zone at the periphery of Aplysia giant neuron: volume of extracellular space and total calcium content of gliagrana

Axonal ion homeostasis and glial differentiation

The brain is the ultimate control unit of the body. It conducts accurate, fast and reproducible calculations to control motor actions affecting mating, foraging and flight or fight decisions. Therefore, during evolution, better and more efficient brains have emerged. However, even simple brains are complex organs. They are formed by glial cells and neurons that establish highly intricate networks to enable information collection, processing and eventually, a precise motor control. Here, we review and connect some well-established and some hidden pieces of information to set the focus on ion homeostasis as a driving force in glial differentiation promoting signalling speed and accuracy.

PRODUCTION OF NITRIC OXIDE WITHIN THE APLYSIA CALIFORNICA NERVOUS SYSTEM

Nitric oxide (NO), an intercellular signaling molecule, helps coordinate neuronal network activity. Here we examine NO generation in the Aplysia central nervous system using 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-2 DA), a fluorescent reagent that forms 4,5-diaminofluorescein triazole (DAF-2T) upon reaction with NO. Recognizing that other fluorescence products are formed within the biochemically complex intracellular environment, we validate the observed fluorescence as being from DAF-2T; using both capillary electrophoresis and mass spectrometry we confirm that DAF-2T is formed from tissues and cells exposed to DAF-2 DA. We observe three distinct subcellular distributions of fluorescence in neurons exposed to DAF-2 DA. The first shows uniform fluorescence inside the cell, with these cells being among previously confirmed NOS-positive regions in the Aplysia cerebral ganglion. The second, seen inside buccal neurons, exhibits point sources of fluorescence, 1.5 ± 0.7 µm in diameter. Interestingly, the number of fluorescence puncta increases when the tissue is preincubated with the NOS substrate L-arginine, and they disappear when cells are preexposed to the NOS inhibitor L-NAME, demonstrating that the fluorescence is connected to NOS-dependent NO production. The third distribution type, seen in the R2 neuron, also exhibits fluorescent puncta, but only on the cell surface. Fluorescence is also observed in the terminals of cultured bag cell neurons loaded with DAF-2 DA. Surprisingly, fluorescence at the R2 surface and bag cell neuron terminals is not modulated by L-arginine or L-NAME, suggesting it has a source distinct from the buccal and cerebral ganglion DAF 2T-positive tissues.

Glial calcium: homeostasis and signaling function

Glial cells respond to various electrical, mechanical, and chemical stimuli, including neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, and hormones, with an increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). The increases exhibit a variety of temporal and spatial patterns. These [Ca2+]i responses result from the coordinated activity of a number of molecular cascades responsible for Ca2+ movement into or out of the cytoplasm either by way of the extracellular space or intracellular stores. Transplasmalemmal Ca2+ movements may be controlled by several types of voltage- and ligand-gated Ca(2+)-permeable channels as well as Ca2+ pumps and a Na+/Ca2+ exchanger. In addition, glial cells express various metabotropic receptors coupled to intracellular Ca2+ stores through the intracellular messenger inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate. The interplay of different molecular cascades enables the development of agonist-specific patterns of Ca2+ responses. Such agonist specificity may provide a means for intracellular and intercellular information coding. Calcium signals can traverse gap junctions between glial cells without decrement. These waves can serve as a substrate for integration of glial activity. By controlling gap junction conductance, Ca2+ waves may define the limits of functional glial networks. Neuronal activity can trigger [Ca2+]i signals in apposed glial cells, and moreover, there is some evidence that glial [Ca2+]i waves can affect neurons. Glial Ca2+ signaling can be regarded as a form of glial excitability.

Calcium loading of secretory granules in stimulated neurohypophysial nerve endings

The total calcium content of secretory granules, Cag, was evaluated in isolated neurohypophysial nerve endings. The Cag in the resting state, as measured by X-ray microanalysis, is relatively high with an average of 7.4 +/- 0.6 mmol/kg wet weight. Following a depolarizing potassium challenge, a subpopulation of granules with even higher Cag could be detected, dispersed over a wider range of concentrations (up to 70 mmol/kg wet weight). After subsequent rinsing in physiological saline, Cag decreased to control values. This could have resulted from Ca2+ extrusion, or from preferential secretion of calcium-enriched granules. Our data can be interpreted in favor of the second explanation since no decrease in Cag was observed when secretion was blocked by a hyperosmotic saline. The effect of hyperosmotic conditions on isolated nerve endings was further studied by monitoring free cytoplasmic Ca2+ with the calcium-sensitive dye Fura-2 and by conventional electron microscopy. It was demonstrated that hyperosmotic treatment alone did not increase basal cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations but did significantly reduce the potassium-induced cytosolic rise in Ca2+. Electron microscopy of nerve endings in hyperosmotic conditions showed numerous exocytotic figures at various stages. The observed changes in Cag are in accord with a published hypothesis which proposes that intragranular calcium is a significant variable in regulated secretion.

Glial calcium

This review summarizes current knowledge relating intracellular calcium and glial function. During steady state, glia maintain a low cytosolic calcium level by pumping calcium into intracellular stores and by extruding calcium across the plasma membrane. Glial Ca2+ increases in response to a variety of physiological stimuli. Some stimuli open membrane calcium channels, others release calcium from intracellular stores, and some do both. The temporal and spatial complexity of glial cytosolic calcium changes suggest that these responses may form the basis of an intracellular or intercellular signaling system. Cytosolic calcium rises effect changes in glial structure and function through protein kinases, phospholipases, and direct interaction with lipid and protein constituents. Ultimately, calcium signaling influence glial gene expression, development, metabolism, and regulation of the extracellular milieu. Disturbances in glial calcium homeostasis may have a role in certain pathological conditions. The discovery of complex calcium-based glial signaling systems, capable of sensing and influencing neural activity, suggest a more integrated neuro-glial model of information processing in the central nervous system.

The abundance of Aplysia gliagrana depends on Ca2+ and/or Na+ concentrations in sea water

The glial cells surrounding the identified giant nerve cell bodies R2 or LP1 of Aplysia punctata were studied by quantitative electron microscopy. They contain specific, electron-dense but non-osmiophilic membrane-bound granules, approximately 0.3 microns in diameter, called gliagrana. Similar glial granules are more often found in marine than in freshwater molluscs, possibly because they represent a calcium store used to compensate excess Na+ in the extracellular milieu of marine species and to regulate perineuronal calcium concentration. In agreement with this hypothesis, the abundance of gliagrana (= number of glial granules per microns 2) is found to be higher in animals adapted to low Ca2+ artificial sea water than in animals kept in high Ca2+ (or low Na+) conditions. This finding is not observed after 1 week but after 2 weeks of adaptation.