Characterization of Panglial Gap Junction Networks in the Thalamus, Neocortex, and Hippocampus Reveals a Unique Population of Glial Cells
Open accessAbstract
The thalamus plays important roles as a relay station for sensory information in the central nervous system (CNS). Although thalamic glial cells participate in this activity, little is known about their properties. In this study, we characterized the formation of coupled networks between astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the murine ventrobasal thalamus and compared these properties with those in the hippocampus and cortex. Biocytin filling of individual astrocytes or oligodendrocytes revealed large panglial networks in all 3 gray matter regions. Combined analyses of mice with cell type-specific deletion of connexins (Cxs), semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting showed that Cx30 is the dominant astrocytic Cx in the thalamus. Many thalamic astrocytes even lack expression of Cx43, while in the hippocampus astrocytic coupling is dominated by Cx43. Deletion of Cx30 and Cx47 led to complete loss of panglial coupling, which was restored when one allele of either Cxs was present. Immunohistochemistry revealed a unique antigen profile of thalamic glia and identified an intermediate cell type expressing both Olig2 and Cx43. Our findings further the emerging concept of glial heterogeneity across brain regions.
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From Reactive astrocyte nomenclature, definitions, and future directions (2021) · cites this paper as [13]
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From Reactive astrocyte nomenclature, definitions, and future directions (2021) · cites this paper as [13]
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- Authors
- Griemsmann, S., Höft, S. P., Bedner, P., Zhang, J., von Staden, E., Beinhauer, A., Degen, J., Dublin, P., Cope, D. W., Richter, N., Crunelli, V., Jabs, R., Willecke, K., Theis, M., Seifert, G., Kettenmann, H., & Steinhäuser, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Bonn (DE)
- Cardiff University (GB)
- Max Delbrück Center (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Griemsmann, Stephanie
- ORCID
- Venue
- Cerebral Cortex
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2014-07-17
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 3420-3433
- ISSN
- 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-2199
- PMC
- PMC4585496
- OpenAlex
- W2150090698
- Cited by
- 132
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 4.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (acceptedVersion)
- MDC Repository (Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (71436, 202167)
- Epilepsy Research UK
- European Commission (202167)
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB TR 3, SFB 645, FP7-202167, STE552/4, SFB 645, B2, Wi270/29-1)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Connexins and lens biology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Keywords
- astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ventrobasal thalamus, hippocampus, neocortex, connexins, Cx30, connexin 43, connexin knockout mice, glial heterogeneity, Olig2
- MeSH terms
- Connexin 30, Animals, Astrocytes, Female, Hippocampus, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Nerve Net, Oligodendroglia, Thalamus, Connexins, Connexin 43, Neocortex, Mice
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