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Jameson AT, Spera LK, Nguyen DL, Paul EM, Tabuchi M. Membrane-coated glass electrodes for stable, low-noise electrophysiology recordings in Drosophila central neurons. J Neurosci Methods 2024; 404:110079. [PMID: 38340901 PMCID: PMC11034715 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Electrophysiological recording with glass electrodes is one of the best techniques to measure membrane potential dynamics and ionic currents of voltage-gated channels in neurons. However, artifactual variability of the biophysical state variables that determine recording quality can be caused by insufficient affinity between the electrode and cell membrane during the recording. NEW METHOD We introduce a phospholipid membrane coating on glass electrodes to improve intracellular electrophysiology recording quality. Membrane-coated electrodes were prepared with a tip-dip protocol for perforated-patch, sharp-electrode current-clamp, and cell-attached patch-clamp recordings from specific circadian clock neurons in Drosophila. We perform quantitative comparisons based on the variability of functional biophysical parameters used in various electrophysiological methods, and advanced statistical comparisons based on the degree of stationariness and signal-to-noise ratio. RESULTS Results indicate a dramatic reduction in artifactual variabilities of functional parameters from enhanced stability. We also identify significant exclusions of a statistically estimated noise component in a time series of membrane voltage signals, improving signal-to-noise ratio. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS Compared to standard glass electrodes, using membrane-coated glass electrodes achieves improved recording quality in intracellular electrophysiology. CONCLUSIONS Electrophysiological recordings from Drosophila central neurons can be technically challenging, however, membrane-coated electrodes will possibly be beneficial for reliable data acquisition and improving the technical feasibility of axonal intracellular activities measurements and single-channel recordings. The improved electrical stability of the recordings should also contribute to increased mechanical stability, thus facilitating long-term stable measurements of neural activity. Therefore, it is possible that membrane-coated electrodes will be useful for any model system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelica T Jameson
- Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Lucia K Spera
- Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Dieu Linh Nguyen
- Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Elizabeth M Paul
- Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Masashi Tabuchi
- Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, United States.
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Gao Y, Xu H, Jia B, Liu Y, Hassan A, Huang Q. Circadian Rhythms of Locomotor Activity Mediated by Cryptochrome 2 and Period 1 Genes in the Termites Reticulitermes chinensis and Odontotermes formosanus. INSECTS 2023; 15:1. [PMID: 38276815 PMCID: PMC10816429 DOI: 10.3390/insects15010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Locomotor activity rhythms are crucial for foraging, mating and predator avoidance in insects. Although the circadian rhythms of activity have been studied in several termite species, the molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythms in termites are still unclear. In this study, we found that two termite species, R. chinensis and O. formosanus, exhibited clear circadian rhythms of locomotor activity in constant darkness along with rhythmically expressed core clock genes, Cry2 and Per1. The knockdown of Cry2 or Per1 expression in the two termite species disrupted the circadian rhythms of locomotor activity and markedly reduced locomotor activity in constant darkness, which demonstrates that Cry2 and Per1 can mediate the circadian rhythms of locomotor activity in termites in constant darkness. We suggest that locomotor activity in subterranean termites is controlled by the circadian clock.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongyong Gao
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; (Y.G.); (H.X.); (B.J.); (Y.L.); (A.H.)
- Research and Development Centre of Ecological and Sustainable Application of Microbial Industry of the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi Province, College of Life Science, Yan’an University, Yan’an 716000, China
- Key Laboratory of Termite Control of Ministry of Water Resources, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Huan Xu
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; (Y.G.); (H.X.); (B.J.); (Y.L.); (A.H.)
- Research and Development Centre of Ecological and Sustainable Application of Microbial Industry of the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi Province, College of Life Science, Yan’an University, Yan’an 716000, China
- Key Laboratory of Termite Control of Ministry of Water Resources, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Bao Jia
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; (Y.G.); (H.X.); (B.J.); (Y.L.); (A.H.)
| | - Yutong Liu
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; (Y.G.); (H.X.); (B.J.); (Y.L.); (A.H.)
| | - Ali Hassan
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; (Y.G.); (H.X.); (B.J.); (Y.L.); (A.H.)
| | - Qiuying Huang
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; (Y.G.); (H.X.); (B.J.); (Y.L.); (A.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Termite Control of Ministry of Water Resources, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
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Stangherlin A. Ion dynamics and the regulation of circadian cellular physiology. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 2023; 324:C632-C643. [PMID: 36689675 DOI: 10.1152/ajpcell.00378.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Circadian rhythms in physiology and behavior allow organisms to anticipate the daily environmental changes imposed by the rotation of our planet around its axis. Although these rhythms eventually manifest at the organismal level, a cellular basis for circadian rhythms has been demonstrated. Significant contributors to these cell-autonomous rhythms are daily cycles in gene expression and protein translation. However, recent data revealed cellular rhythms in other biological processes, including ionic currents, ion transport, and cytosolic ion abundance. Circadian rhythms in ion currents sustain circadian variation in action potential firing rate, which coordinates neuronal behavior and activity. Circadian regulation of metal ions abundance and dynamics is implicated in distinct cellular processes, from protein translation to membrane activity and osmotic homeostasis. In turn, studies showed that manipulating ion abundance affects the expression of core clock genes and proteins, suggestive of a close interplay. However, the relationship between gene expression cycles, ion dynamics, and cellular function is still poorly characterized. In this review, I will discuss the mechanisms that generate ion rhythms, the cellular functions they govern, and how they feed back to regulate the core clock machinery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Stangherlin
- Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cluster of Excellence Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD), Institute for Mitochondrial Diseases and Ageing, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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Au DD, Liu JC, Nguyen TH, Foden AJ, Park SJ, Dimalanta M, Yu Z, Holmes TC. Nocturnal mosquito Cryptochrome 1 mediates greater electrophysiological and behavioral responses to blue light relative to diurnal mosquito Cryptochrome 1. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:1042508. [PMID: 36532283 PMCID: PMC9749892 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1042508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Nocturnal Anopheles mosquitoes exhibit strong behavioral avoidance to blue-light while diurnal Aedes mosquitoes are behaviorally attracted to blue-light and a wide range of other wavelengths of light. To determine the molecular mechanism of these effects, we expressed light-sensing Anopheles gambiae (AgCRY1) and Aedes aegypti (AeCRY1) Cryptochrome 1 (CRY) genes under a crypGAL4-24 driver line in a mutant Drosophila genetic background lacking native functional CRY, then tested behavioral and electrophysiological effects of mosquito CRY expression relative to positive and negative CRY control conditions. Neither mosquito CRY stops the circadian clock as shown by robust circadian behavioral rhythmicity in constant darkness in flies expressing either AgCRY1 or AeCRY1. AgCRY1 and AeCRY1 both mediate acute increases in large ventral lateral neuronal firing rate evoked by 450 nm blue-light, corresponding to CRY's peak absorbance in its base state, indicating that both mosquito CRYs are functional, however, AgCRY1 mediates significantly stronger sustained electrophysiological light-evoked depolarization in response to blue-light relative to AeCRY1. In contrast, neither AgCRY1 nor AeCRY1 expression mediates measurable increases in large ventral lateral neuronal firing rates in response to 405 nm violet-light, the peak of the Rhodopsin-7 photoreceptor that is co-expressed in the large lateral ventral neurons. These results are consistent with the known action spectra of type 1 CRYs and lack of response in cry-null controls. AgCRY1 and AeCRY1 expressing flies show behavioral attraction to low intensity blue-light, but AgCRY1 expressing flies show behavioral avoidance to higher intensity blue-light. These results show that nocturnal and diurnal mosquito Cryptochrome 1 proteins mediate differential physiological and behavioral responses to blue-light that are consistent with species-specific mosquito behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- David D. Au
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Jenny C. Liu
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Thanh H. Nguyen
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Alexander J. Foden
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Soo Jee Park
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Mia Dimalanta
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Zhaoxia Yu
- Department of Statistics, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States,Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Todd C. Holmes
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States,Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States,*Correspondence: Todd C. Holmes,
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Liu X, Chiu JC. Nutrient-sensitive protein O-GlcNAcylation shapes daily biological rhythms. Open Biol 2022; 12:220215. [PMID: 36099933 PMCID: PMC9470261 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.220215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
O-linked-N-acetylglucosaminylation (O-GlcNAcylation) is a nutrient-sensitive protein modification that alters the structure and function of a wide range of proteins involved in diverse cellular processes. Similar to phosphorylation, another protein modification that targets serine and threonine residues, O-GlcNAcylation occupancy on cellular proteins exhibits daily rhythmicity and has been shown to play critical roles in regulating daily rhythms in biology by modifying circadian clock proteins and downstream effectors. We recently reported that daily rhythm in global O-GlcNAcylation observed in Drosophila tissues is regulated via the integration of circadian and metabolic signals. Significantly, mistimed feeding, which disrupts coordination of these signals, is sufficient to dampen daily O-GlcNAcylation rhythm and is predicted to negatively impact animal biological rhythms and health span. In this review, we provide an overview of published and potential mechanisms by which metabolic and circadian signals regulate hexosamine biosynthetic pathway metabolites and enzymes, as well as O-GlcNAc processing enzymes to shape daily O-GlcNAcylation rhythms. We also discuss the significance of functional interactions between O-GlcNAcylation and other post-translational modifications in regulating biological rhythms. Finally, we highlight organ/tissue-specific cellular processes and molecular pathways that could be modulated by rhythmic O-GlcNAcylation to regulate time-of-day-specific biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianhui Liu
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Joanna C. Chiu
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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Güldür T. Potential linkages between circadian rhythm and membrane lipids: timekeeper and bilayer. BIOL RHYTHM RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09291016.2022.2096756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tayfun Güldür
- Medical Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Inönü University, Malatya, Turkey
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Nguyen DL, Hutson AN, Zhang Y, Daniels SD, Peard AR, Tabuchi M. Age-Related Unstructured Spike Patterns and Molecular Localization in Drosophila Circadian Neurons. Front Physiol 2022; 13:845236. [PMID: 35356078 PMCID: PMC8959858 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.845236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Aging decreases sleep quality by disrupting the molecular machinery that regulates the circadian rhythm. However, we do not fully understand the mechanism that underlies this process. In Drosophila, sleep quality is regulated by precisely timed patterns of spontaneous firing activity in posterior DN1 (DN1p) circadian clock neurons. How aging affects the physiological function of DN1p neurons is unknown. In this study, we found that aging altered functional parameters related to neural excitability and disrupted patterned spike sequences in DN1p neurons during nighttime. We also characterized age-associated changes in intrinsic membrane properties related to spike frequency adaptations and synaptic properties, which may account for the unstructured spike patterns in aged DN1p neurons. Because Slowpoke binding protein (SLOB) and the Na+/K+ ATPase β subunit (NaKβ) regulate clock-dependent spiking patterns in circadian networks, we compared the subcellular organization of these factors between young and aged DN1p neurons. Young DN1p neurons showed circadian cycling of HA-tagged SLOB and myc-tagged NaKβ targeting the plasma membrane, whereas aged DN1p neurons showed significantly disrupted subcellular localization patterns of both factors. The distribution of SLOB and NaKβ signals also showed greater variability in young vs. aged DN1p neurons, suggesting aging leads to a loss of actively formed heterogeneity for these factors. These findings showed that aging disrupts precisely structured molecular patterns that regulate structured neural activity in the circadian network, leading to age-associated declines in sleep quality. Thus, it is possible to speculate that a recovery of unstructured neural activity in aging clock neurons could help to rescue age-related poor sleep quality.
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