1. Academic Validation
  2. Sensory Glia Detect Repulsive Odorants and Drive Olfactory Adaptation

Sensory Glia Detect Repulsive Odorants and Drive Olfactory Adaptation

  • Neuron. 2020 Nov 25;108(4):707-721.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.08.026.
Duo Duan 1 Hu Zhang 2 Xiaomin Yue 2 Yuedan Fan 2 Yadan Xue 3 Jiajie Shao 3 Gang Ding 3 Du Chen 3 Shitian Li 3 Hankui Cheng 3 Xiaoyan Zhang 3 Wenjuan Zou 3 Jia Liu 3 Jian Zhao 3 Linmei Wang 3 Bingzhen Zhao 4 Zhiping Wang 3 Suhong Xu 5 Quan Wen 4 Jie Liu 6 Shumin Duan 7 Lijun Kang 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, China; Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China.
  • 2 Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, China.
  • 3 Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China.
  • 4 Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
  • 5 Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
  • 6 Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
  • 7 NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, China; Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China. Electronic address: duanshumin@zjuem.zju.edu.cn.
  • 8 Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 310053, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, China. Electronic address: kanglijun@zju.edu.cn.
Abstract

Glia are typically considered as supporting cells for neural development and synaptic transmission. Here, we report an active role of a glia in olfactory transduction. As a polymodal sensory neuron in C. elegans, the ASH neuron is previously known to detect multiple aversive odorants. We reveal that the AMsh glia, a sheath for multiple sensory neurons including ASH, cell-autonomously respond to aversive odorants via G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) distinct from those in ASH. Upon activation, the AMsh glia suppress aversive odorant-triggered avoidance and promote olfactory adaptation by inhibiting the ASH neuron via GABA signaling. Thus, we propose a novel two-receptor model where the glia and sensory neuron jointly mediate adaptive olfaction. Our study reveals a non-canonical function of glial cells in olfactory transduction, which may provide new insights into the glia-like supporting cells in mammalian sensory procession.

Keywords

C. elegans; GABAergic inhibition; glia; olfactory adaptation; olfactory transduction.

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