Background: Synapse formation and function is modulated by intrinsic and extrinsic non-autonomous factors.Results: Astrocytes induce synapse formation through TGF-β1 pathway. TGF-β1 synaptogenic property is dependent on d-serine signaling.Conclusion: TGF-β induces excitatory glutamatergic synapses in vertebrates.Significance: This is a novel molecular mechanism that might impact synaptic function and shed light on new potential therapeutic targets for synaptic deficit diseases.

The hippocampal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is a newly identified ligand-gated ion channel that is blocked by the snake toxin alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-BGT) and that probably contains the alpha 7 nAChR subunit in its structure. Here its ion selectivity was characterized and compared with that of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor channel. The reversal potentials (VR) of acetylcholine- and NMDA-activated whole-cell currents were determined under various ionic conditions. Using ion activities and a Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation for VR shifts in the presence of Ca2+, permeability ratios were calculated. For the alpha-BGT-sensitive nAChR, PNa/PCs was close to 1 and Cl- did not contribute to the currents. Changing the [Ca2+]0 from 1 to 10 mM, the VRs of the nAChR and NMDA currents were shifted by +5.6 +/- 0.4 and +8.3 +/- 0.4 mV, respectively, and the nAChR current decay was accelerated. These shifts yielded PCa/PCss of 6.1 +/- 0.5 for the nAChR channel and 10.3 +/- 0.7 for the NMDA channel. Thus, the neuronal alpha-BGT-sensitive nAChR is a cation channel considerably selective to Ca2+ and may mediate a fast rise in intracellular Ca2+ that would increase in magnitude with membrane hyperpolarization.

Neurological complications affecting the central nervous system have been reported in adult patients infected by Zika virus (ZIKV) but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we report that ZIKV replicates in human and mouse adult brain tissue, targeting mature neurons. ZIKV preferentially targets memory-related brain regions, inhibits hippocampal long-term potentiation and induces memory impairment in adult mice. TNF-α upregulation, microgliosis and upregulation of complement system proteins, C1q and C3, are induced by ZIKV infection. Microglia are found to engulf hippocampal presynaptic terminals during acute infection. Neutralization of TNF-α signaling, blockage of microglial activation or of C1q/C3 prevent synapse and memory impairment in ZIKV-infected mice. Results suggest that ZIKV induces synapse and memory dysfunction via aberrant activation of TNF-α, microglia and complement. Our findings establish a mechanism by which ZIKV affects the adult brain, and point to the need of evaluating cognitive deficits as a potential comorbidity in ZIKV-infected adults.

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The diversity of neuronal nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) in addition to their possible involvement in such pathological conditions as Alzheimer's disease have directed our research towards the characterization of these receptors in various mammalian brain areas. Our studies have relied on electrophysiological, biochemical, and immunofluorescent techniques applied to cultured and acutely dissociated hippocampal neurons, and have been aimed at identifying the various subtypes of nAChRs expressed in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), at defining the mechanisms by which CNS nAChR activity is modulated, and at determining the ion permeability of CNS nAChR channels. Our findings can be summarized as follows: (1) hippocampal neurons express at least three subtypes of CNS nAChRs--an alpha 7-subunit-bearing nAChR that subserves fast-inactivating, alpha-BGT-sensitive currents, which are referred to as type IA, and alpha 4 beta 2 nAChR that subserves slowly inactivating, dihydro-beta-erythroidine-sensitive currents, which are referred to as type II, and an alpha 3 beta 4 nAChR that subserves slowly inactivating, mecamylamine-sensitive currents, which are referred to as type III; (2) nicotinic agonists can activate a single type of nicotinic current in olfactory bulb neurons, that is, type IA currents; (3) alpha 7-subunit-bearing nAChR channels in the hippocampus have a brief lifetime, a high conductance, and a high Ca2+ permeability; (4) the peak amplitude of type IA currents tends to rundown with time, and this rundown can be prevented by the presence of ATP-regenerating compounds (particularly phosphocreatine) in the internal solution; (5) rectification of type IA currents is dependent on the presence of Mg2+ in the internal solution; and (6) there is an ACh-insensitive site on neuronal and nonneuronal nAChRs through which the receptor channel can be activated. These findings lay the groundwork for a better understanding of the physiological role of these receptors in synaptic transmission in the CNS.