Ca2+ signaling in astrocytes is sleep-wake state specific and modulates sleep [article]

Laura Bojarskaite, Daniel Marelius Bjørnstad, Klas Henning Pettersen, Céline Cunen, Gudmund Horn Hermansen, Knut Sindre Åbjørsbråten, Rolf Sprengel, Koen Vervaeke, Wannan Tang, Rune Enger, Erlend Arnulf Nagelhus
2019 bioRxiv   pre-print
Astrocytic Ca2+ signaling has been intensively studied in health and disease but remains uncharacterized in sleep. Here, we employed a novel activity-based algorithm to assess astrocytic Ca2+ signals in the barrel cortex of awake and naturally sleeping mice while monitoring neuronal Ca2+ activity, brain rhythms and behavior. We discovered that Ca2+ signaling in astrocytes exhibits distinct features across the sleep-wake cycle and is reduced in sleep compared to wakefulness. Moreover, an
more » ... in astrocytic Ca2+ signaling precedes transitions from slow-wave sleep to wakefulness, with a peak upon awakening exceeding the levels during whisking and locomotion. Genetic ablation of a key astrocytic Ca2+ signaling pathway resulted in fragmentation of slow-wave sleep, yet increased the frequency of sleep spindles. Our findings suggest a role for astrocytic Ca2+ signaling in modulating sleep.
doi:10.1101/750281 fatcat:pgudksjw4nhi7n3cz5qormzgbm