Phasic/tonic glial GABA differentially transduce for olfactory adaptation and neuronal aging

Hankui Cheng, Du Chen, Xiao Li, Umar Al-Sheikh, Duo Duan, Yuedan Fan, Linhui Zhu, Wanxin Zeng, Zhitao Hu, Xiajing Tong, Guohua Zhao, Yongming Zhang, Wenjuan Zou, Shumin Duan, Lijun Kang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Phasic (fast) and tonic (sustained) inhibition of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are fundamental for regulating day-to-day activities, neuronal excitability, and plasticity. However, the mechanisms and physiological functions of glial GABA transductions remain poorly understood. Here, we report that the AMsh glia in Caenorhabditis elegans exhibit both phasic and tonic GABAergic signaling, which distinctively regulate olfactory adaptation and neuronal aging. Through genetic screening, we find that GABA permeates through bestrophin-9/-13/-14 anion channels from AMsh glia, which primarily activate the metabolic GABAB receptor GBB-1 in the neighboring ASH sensory neurons. This tonic action of glial GABA regulates the age-associated changes of ASH neurons and olfactory responses via a conserved signaling pathway, inducing neuroprotection. In addition, the calcium-evoked, vesicular glial GABA release acts upon the ionotropic GABAA receptor LGC-38 in ASH neurons to regulate olfactory adaptation. These findings underscore the fundamental significance of glial GABA in maintaining healthy aging and neuronal stability. © 2024 Elsevier Inc.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1473-1486
JournalNeuron
Volume112
Issue number9
Online published5 Mar 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2024

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Foundation of Natural Science of China (32271017, 31771113, and 31471023 to L.K. and 31800878 to W.Z.), STI2030 Major Projects (2021ZD0203303 to L.K.), Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (LZ22C090001 to L.K.), Research Center of Prevention and Treatment of Senescence Syndrome of School of Medicine Zhejiang University (2022020001), and the Non-profit Central Research Institute Fund of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2023-PT310-01). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. We thank Sanhua Fang from the Core Facilites, Zhejiang University School of Medicine for his technical support, and we thank the Caenorhabditis Genetic Center (CGC), which is supported by the National Institutes of Health – Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (P40 OD010440), for strains.

Research Keywords

  • GABA
  • GABAergic receptors
  • glia-neuronal interaction
  • neuronal aging
  • olfactory adaptation
  • phasic inhibition
  • tonic inhibition

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