Host interneurons mediate plasticity reactivated by embryonic inhibitory cell transplantation in mouse visual cortex

• Published in: Nature communications 2021-02, Vol.12 (1), p.862-862, Article 862
• Main Authors: Zheng, XiaoTing, Salinas, Kirstie J., Velez, Dario X. Figueroa, Nakayama, Taylor, Lin, Xiaoxiao, Banerjee, Dhruba, Xu, Xiangmin, Gandhi, Sunil P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 14/69; 631/378/1687; 631/378/1697; 631/378/1697/1691; 631/378/2571/1696; 631/378/2613; 64/60; Animals; Brain; Cell Differentiation; Cell Transplantation; Circuits; Deletion; Deprivation; Dominance, Ocular; Embryos; ErbB-2 protein; Female; Humanities and Social Sciences; Interneurons; Interneurons - physiology; Interneurons - transplantation; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; multidisciplinary; Neuregulin; Neuregulin 1; Neuregulin-1 - metabolism; Neuronal Plasticity - physiology; Neuroplasticity; Parvalbumin; Parvalbumins - metabolism; Receptor, ErbB-4 - metabolism; Receptors; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sensory Deprivation; Signal Transduction; Signaling; Somatosensory cortex; Synapses - physiology; Transplantation; Transplants & implants; Visual cortex; Visual Cortex - embryology; Visual deprivation; Visual pathways; Visual plasticity; Visual signals
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21097-4

The adult brain lacks sensitivity to changes in the sensory environment found in the juvenile brain. The transplantation of embryonic interneurons has been shown to restore juvenile plasticity to the adult host visual cortex. It is unclear whether transplanted interneurons directly mediate the renewed cortical plasticity or whether these cells act indirectly by modifying the host interneuron circuitry. Here we find that the transplant-induced reorganization of mouse host circuits is specifically mediated by Neuregulin (NRG1)/ErbB4 signaling in host parvalbumin (PV) interneurons. Brief visual deprivation reduces the visual activity of host PV interneurons but has negligible effects on the responses of transplanted PV interneurons. Exogenous NRG1 both prevents the deprivation-induced reduction in the visual responses of host PV interneurons and blocks the transplant-induced reorganization of the host circuit. While deletion of ErbB4 receptors from host PV interneurons blocks cortical plasticity in the transplant recipients, deletion of the receptors from the donor PV interneurons does not. Altogether, our results indicate that transplanted embryonic interneurons reactivate cortical plasticity by rejuvenating the function of host PV interneurons. Transplantation of embryonic interneurons can restore juvenile plasticity to the adult host visual cortex. Here, the authors show that transplanted embryonic interneurons reactivate cortical plasticity via Neuregulin/ErbB4 signaling in host parvalbumin interneurons.