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2 Janelia Publications
Showing 1-2 of 2 resultsAlthough the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) extends throughout axons and axonal ER dysfunction is implicated in numerous neurological diseases, its role at nerve terminals is poorly understood. We developed novel genetically encoded ER-targeted low-affinity Ca(2+) indicators optimized for examining axonal ER Ca(2+). Our experiments revealed that presynaptic function is tightly controlled by ER Ca(2+) content. We found that neuronal activity drives net Ca(2+) uptake into presynaptic ER although this activity does not contribute significantly to shaping cytosolic Ca(2+) except during prolonged repetitive firing. In contrast, we found that axonal ER acts as an actuator of plasma membrane (PM) function: [Ca(2+)]ER controls STIM1 activation in presynaptic terminals, which results in the local modulation of presynaptic function, impacting activity-driven Ca(2+) entry and release probability. These experiments reveal a critical role of presynaptic ER in the control of neurotransmitter release and will help frame future investigations into the molecular basis of ER-driven neuronal disease states.
Glia play crucial roles in the development and homeostasis of the nervous system. While the GLIA in the Drosophila embryo have been well characterized, their study in the adult nervous system has been limited. Here, we present a detailed description of the glia in the adult nervous system, based on the analysis of some 500 glial drivers we identified within a collection of synthetic GAL4 lines. We find that glia make up ∼10% of the cells in the nervous system and envelop all compartments of neurons (soma, dendrites, axons) as well as the nervous system as a whole. Our morphological analysis suggests a set of simple rules governing the morphogenesis of glia and their interactions with other cells. All glial subtypes minimize contact with their glial neighbors but maximize their contact with neurons and adapt their macromorphology and micromorphology to the neuronal entities they envelop. Finally, glial cells show no obvious spatial organization or registration with neuronal entities. Our detailed description of all glial subtypes and their regional specializations, together with the powerful genetic toolkit we provide, will facilitate the functional analysis of glia in the mature nervous system. GLIA 2017.