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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data All Versions of this Article: fj.07-090985v1 22/8/2957    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Kukley, M. Articles by Dietrich, D. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kukley, M. Articles by Dietrich, D.

Glial cells are born with synapses

Maria Kukley^*,1, Maia Kiladze^*, Reshmi Tognatta^*, Michael Hans, Dieter Swandulla, Johannes Schramm^* and Dirk Dietrich^*,1

^* Department of Neurosurgery and

Department of Physiology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

¹Correspondence: Department of Neurosurgery, NCH U1 R035, Experimental Neurophysiology, University Clinic Bonn, Sigmund-Freud Str. 25, D-53105 Bonn, Germany. E-mail: M.K., maria.kukley{at}gmx.de; or D.D., dirk.dietrich{at}ukb.uni-bonn.de

In postnatal rodent brain, certain NG2-expressing oligodendroglial precursor cells (OPCs) are contacted by synaptic terminals from local neurons. However, it has remained elusive whether and when NG2⁺ cells are integrated into neuronal circuits. Here we use patch-clamp recordings from mitotic cells in murine brain slices to show that, unlike any other cell in the central nervous system (CNS), cortical NG2⁺ cells divide and relocate while being linked to synaptic junctions. Together with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling, our recordings imply that cellular processes that bear synaptic junctions are surprisingly kept during cytokinesis and are inherited by the daughter cells. Cell cycle time (78 h) and relocation speed (5 µm/day) are slowed, and NG2⁺ cells largely divide symmetrically. Inheritance of synapses enables newborn glial cells to establish synaptic connections much faster than newborn neurons and ensures that the entire population of NG2⁺ cells is exposed to synaptic signals from local axons. The results suggest that synapses do not only transmit neuronal activity but also act as environmental cues for the development of glial cells. Inheritance of synapses allows for the direct transfer of environmental interactions to clonal descendants of OPCs, which might be important for effective colonization and myelination of the developing brain.—Kukley, M., Kiladze, M., Tognatta, R., Hans, M., Swandulla, D., Schramm, J., Dietrich, D. Glial cells are born with synapses.

Key Words: NG2 • proliferation • mitosis • GABA • glutamate • patch clamp