Figure 1 (IMAGE)
Caption
Habenular astrocyte acidification in the anxiogenic environment. (A) The fluorescence sensor protein E2GFP is sensitive to changes in intracellular pH. The green emission in response to purple light excitation does not change much with pH changes; however, the orange emission is largely decreased with pH acidification. E2GFP was selectively expressed in astrocytes, and fluorescence fluctuation in the habenula was analyzed using the fiber-photometry method. (B) When the mouse was placed in the anxiogenic all-marble cage, ~ 8 Hz theta-band neuronal activity was detected in the local field potential recorded using a pair of electrodes placed in the habenula. With the optical fiber placed in the habenula, green emission showed a downward deflection when the mouse was placed in the all-marble cage. This indicates an increase in local brain blood volume. The expansion of the blood vessel diameter likely obstructs the emitted fluorescence from reaching the optical fiber for detection. The orange emission showed a larger downward deflection compared to the green emission. This indicates that the intracellular pH in the habenular astrocytes was acidified, and the local brain blood volume increased when the mice were anxious.
Credit
Wanqin Tan, Ko Matsui.
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