ArticleThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience2011
Vagal afferent stimulation activates astrocytes in the nucleus of the solitary tract via AMPA receptors: evidence of an atypical neural-glial interaction in the brainstem.
Article in The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Glia of the heart's nervous system.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Glial Plasticity and Metabolic Stability After Knockdown of Astrocytic Cx43 in the Dorsal Vagal Complex.Cells · 2025Article
- Autism spectrum disorder and the role of nuclear hormone receptors: insights and therapeutic implications.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Vagotomy blunts cardiorespiratory responses to vagal afferent stimulation via pre- and postsynaptic effects in the nucleus tractus solitarii.The Journal of physiology · 2024Article
- Glial Modulation of Energy Balance: The Dorsal Vagal Complex Is No Exception.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Unilateral vagotomy alters astrocyte and microglial morphology in the nucleus tractus solitarii of the rat.American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology · 2021Article
- Similarities in alcohol and opioid withdrawal syndromes suggest common negative reinforcement mechanisms involving the interoceptive antireward pathway.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2021Review
- The role of astrocytes in the nucleus tractus solitarii in maintaining central control of autonomic function.American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology · 2021Review
- Altered physiology of gastrointestinal vagal afferents following neurotrauma.Neural regeneration research · 2021Review
- Attenuated Induction of the Unfolded Protein Response in Adult Human Primary Astrocytes in Response to Recurrent Low Glucose.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Article
- Musings on the wanderer: What's new in our understanding of vago-vagal reflexes? VI. Central vagal circuits that control glucose metabolism.American journal of physiology. Gastrointestinal and liver physiology · 2021Review
- Astrocytes in the nucleus of the solitary tract: Contributions to neural circuits controlling physiology.Physiology & behavior · 2020Review
- Peripheral-to-central immune communication at the area postrema glial-barrier following bleomycin-induced sterile lung injury in adult rats.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2020Article
- Thrombin action on astrocytes in the hindbrain of the rat disrupts glycemic and respiratory control.American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology · 2020Article
- Article
- Astrocytes Modulate Baroreflex Sensitivity at the Level of the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2020Article
- Dorsal vagal complex and hypothalamic glia differentially respond to leptin and energy balance dysregulation.Translational psychiatry · 2020Article
- Evidence that hindbrain astrocytes in the rat detect low glucose with a glucose transporter 2-phospholipase C-calcium release mechanism.American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology · 2020Article
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3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The nucleus of the solitary tract (NST), located in the dorsomedial medulla, is the site of visceral sensory modulation of a variety of homeostatic reflexes. Given recent advancements in the understanding of active regulation of synaptic information flow by astrocytes, we sought to determine whether afferent sensory inputs to NST neurons also activates NST astrocytes. Using confocal, live-cell calcium imaging of brainstem slices, we investigated the possibility that stimulation of vagal sensory afferents, the major sensory input into the NST, activated NST astrocytes, as indicated by increases in astrocytic intracellular calcium concentrations ([Ca²⁺](i)). Astrocytes and neurons were preloaded with the calcium reporter dye Calcium Green, and astrocytes were selectively stained by sulforhodamine 101. Electrical stimulation of vagal afferent axons produced rapid increases in [Ca²⁺](i) in NST astrocytes as well as neurons. Surprisingly, this effect on astrocytes was blocked by the AMPA receptor antagonist NBQX and was unaffected by antagonism of NMDA and metabotropic glutamate receptors. Bath application of AMPA also activated astrocytes. This activation was dependent on extracellular Ca²⁺ influx through both typical AMPA receptors and calcium-permeable AMPA receptors. This AMPA-mediated Ca²⁺ influx was further amplified by actions of the ryanodine receptor by way of calcium-induced calcium release. Our immunohistochemical staining of NST cells further verified the presence of the AMPAR subunit GluR1 on astrocytes. These observations suggest that NST astrocytes may be active participants in the regulation of autonomic reflexes even in the normal, healthy state.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.