A hyperpolarizing neuron recruits undocked innexin hemichannels to transmit neural information in Caenorhabditis elegans

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Nakayama, Airi; Watanabe, Masakatsu; Yamashiro, Riku; Kuroyanagi, Hiroo; Matsuyama, Hironori J.; Oshima, Atsunori; Mori, Ikue; Nakano, Shunji
• 署名单位: Nagoya University; University of Osaka; Nagoya University; Nagoya University; Nagoya University; Nagoya University; Gifu University; Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-10022
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2406565121
• 发表日期: 2024-05-21
• 关键词: myoendothelial gap-junctions; c.-elegans; thermosensory neuron; thermotaxis; circuit; FAMILY; neurotransmission; oscillations; integration; synapses

摘要

While depolarization of the neuronal membrane is known to evoke the neurotransmitter release from synaptic vesicles, hyperpolarization is regarded as a resting state of chemical neurotransmission. Here, we report that hyperpolarizing neurons can actively signal neural information by employing undocked hemichannels. We show that UNC-7, a member of the innexin family in Caenorhabditis elegans, functions as a hemichannel in thermosensory neurons and transmits temperature information from the thermosensory neurons to their postsynaptic interneurons. By monitoring neural activities in freely behaving animals, we find that hyperpolarizing thermosensory neurons inhibit the activity of the interneurons and that UNC-7 hemichannels regulate this process. UNC-7 is required to control thermotaxis behavior and functions independently of synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Our findings suggest that innexin hemichannels mediate neurotransmission from hyperpolarizing neurons in a manner that is distinct from the synaptic transmission, expanding the way of neural circuitry operations.