2. Academic Validation
  3. Sensory Glia Detect Repulsive Odorants and Drive Olfactory Adaptation

Sensory Glia Detect Repulsive Odorants and Drive Olfactory Adaptation

  • Neuron. 2020 Nov 25;108(4):707-721.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.08.026.
Duo Duan 1,  Hu Zhang 2,  Xiaomin Yue 2,  Yuedan Fan 2,  Yadan Xue 3,  Jiajie Shao 3,  Gang Ding 3,  Du Chen 3,  Shitian Li 3,  Hankui Cheng 3,  Xiaoyan Zhang 3,  Wenjuan Zou 3,  Jia Liu 3,  Jian Zhao 3,  Linmei Wang 3,  Bingzhen Zhao 4,  Zhiping Wang 3,  Suhong Xu 5,  Quan Wen 4,  Jie Liu 6,  Shumin Duan 7,  Lijun Kang 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, China; Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China.
  • 2 Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, China.
  • 3 Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China.
  • 4 Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
  • 5 Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
  • 6 Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
  • 7 NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, China; Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 8 Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 32970991 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.08.026
Abstract

Glia are typically considered as supporting cells for neural development and synaptic transmission. Here, we report an active role of a glia in olfactory transduction. As a polymodal sensory neuron in C. elegans, the ASH neuron is previously known to detect multiple aversive odorants. We reveal that the AMsh glia, a sheath for multiple sensory neurons including ASH, cell-autonomously respond to aversive odorants via G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) distinct from those in ASH. Upon activation, the AMsh glia suppress aversive odorant-triggered avoidance and promote olfactory adaptation by inhibiting the ASH neuron via GABA signaling. Thus, we propose a novel two-receptor model where the glia and sensory neuron jointly mediate adaptive olfaction. Our study reveals a non-canonical function of glial cells in olfactory transduction, which may provide new insights into the glia-like supporting cells in mammalian sensory procession.

Keywords

C. elegans; GABAergic inhibition; glia; olfactory adaptation; olfactory transduction.

Figures
Products