Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 329, Issue 5991, Pages 571-575Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1190721
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Funding
- British Heart Foundation [PG/09/064/27886] Funding Source: researchfish
- British Heart Foundation [PG/09/064/27886] Funding Source: Medline
- Wellcome Trust [079040] Funding Source: Medline
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Astrocytes provide structural and metabolic support for neuronal networks, but direct evidence demonstrating their active role in complex behaviors is limited. Central respiratory chemosensitivity is an essential mechanism that, via regulation of breathing, maintains constant levels of blood and brain pH and partial pressure of CO(2). We found that astrocytes of the brainstem chemoreceptor areas are highly chemosensitive. They responded to physiological decreases in pH with vigorous elevations in intracellular Ca(2+) and release of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP propagated astrocytic Ca(2+) excitation, activated chemoreceptor neurons, and induced adaptive increases in breathing. Mimicking pH-evoked Ca(2+) responses by means of optogenetic stimulation of astrocytes expressing channelrhodopsin-2 activated chemoreceptor neurons via an ATP-dependent mechanism and triggered robust respiratory responses in vivo. This demonstrates a potentially crucial role for brain glial cells in mediating a fundamental physiological reflex.
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