Dopamine facilitates the response to glutamatergic inputs in astrocyte cell models.

ABSTRACT: Astrocytes respond to neurotransmitters by increasing their intracellular Ca2+ concentration (Ca2+ signals). While glutamate released by neurons trigger Ca2+ signals through IP3- and glutamate transporter-dependent mechanisms, dopamine released in distant sites activates astrocytes via dopaminergic receptors. However, little is known about the modulatory effects of dopamine on glutamate-evoked astrocytic activity. To investigate this question, we developed multi-compartment, conductance-based astrocyte models with three distinct morphologies: unipolar; bipolar; and bifurcated-terminal. Glutamate induced localized responses, while dopamine activated all compartments. In the unipolar model, global dopaminergic stimulation reduced the threshold frequency of glutamatergic stimulation required

SUBMITTER: Bezerra TO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11684655 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature