Simultaneous whole-cell patch-clamp and calcium imaging on myenteric neurons

Live calcium imaging is often used as a proxy for electrophysiological measurements and has been a valuable tool that allows simul-taneous analysis of neuronal activity in multiple cells at the population level. In the enteric nervous system, there are two main elec-trophysiological classes of neurons, after-hyperpolarizing (AH)-and synaptic (S)-neurons, which have been shown to have different calcium handling mechanisms. However, they are rarely considered separately in calcium imaging experiments. A handful of studies have shown that in guinea pig, a calcium transient will accompany a single action potential in AH-neurons, but multiple action poten-tials are required to generate a calcium transient in S-neurons. How this translates to different modes of cellular depolarization and whether this is consistent across species is unknown. In this study, we used simultaneous whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology together with calcium imaging to investigate how enteric neurons respond to different modes of depolarization. Using both traditional (4 Hz) and also high-speed (1,000 Hz) imaging techniques, we found that single action potentials elicit calcium transients in both AH-neurons and S-neurons. Subthreshold membrane depolarizations were also able to elicit calcium transients, although calcium responses were generally amplified if an action potential was present. Furthermore, we identified that responses to nicotinic acetyl-choline receptor stimulation can be used to distinguish between AH-and S-neurons in calcium imaging. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Live calcium imaging is an important tool for investigating enteric nervous system (ENS) function. Previous studies have shown that multiple action potentials are needed to generate a calcium response in S-neurons, which has important implications for the interpretation of calcium imaging data. Here, we show that in mouse myenteric neurons, calcium transients are elicited by single action potentials in both AH-and S-neurons. In addition, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor stimula-tion can be used to distinguish between these two classes.

Automated summary

Live calcium imaging is a valuable tool for simultaneous analysis of neuronal activity. This study investigated how enteric neurons respond to different modes of depolarization using electrophysiology and calcium imaging techniques. The research found that single action potentials can elicit calcium transients in both AH-neurons and S-neurons, and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor stimulation can be used to distinguish between these two classes.