Ventral midbrain astrocytes display unique physiological features and sensitivity to dopamine D2 receptor signaling.

ABSTRACT: Astrocytes are ubiquitous CNS cells that support tissue homeostasis through ion buffering, neurotransmitter recycling, and regulation of CNS vasculature. Yet, despite the essential functional roles they fill, very little is known about the physiology of astrocytes in the ventral midbrain, a region that houses dopamine-releasing neurons and is critical for reward learning and motivated behaviors. Here, using a combination of whole-transcriptome sequencing, histology, slice electrophysiology, and calcium imaging, we performed the first functional and molecular profiling of ventral midbrain astrocytes and observed numerous differences between these cells and their telencephalic counterparts, both in their gene expression profile and in their physiological properties. Ventral midbrain astrocyt

SUBMITTER: Xin W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6300565 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature