期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:2018
卷号:115
期号:42
页码:E9926-E9933
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1809050115
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:A particularly essential determinant of a neuron’s functionality is its neurotransmitter phenotype. While the prevailing view is that neurotransmitter phenotypes are fixed and determined early during development, a growing body of evidence suggests that neurons retain the ability to switch between different neurotransmitters. However, such changes are considered unlikely in motoneurons due to their crucial functional role in animals’ behavior. Here we describe the expression and dynamics of glutamatergic neurotransmission in the adult zebrafish spinal motoneuron circuit assembly. We demonstrate that part of the fast motoneurons retain the ability to switch their neurotransmitter phenotype under physiological (exercise/training) and pathophysiological (spinal cord injury) conditions to corelease glutamate in the neuromuscular junctions to enhance animals’ motor output. Our findings suggest that motoneuron neurotransmitter switching is an important plasticity-bestowing mechanism in the reconfiguration of spinal circuits that control movements.