Conditional Rhythmicity of Ventral Spinal Interneurons Defined by Expression of the Hb9 Homeodomain Protein

The properties of mammalian spinal interneurons that underlie rhythmic locomotor networks remain poorly described. Using postnatal transgenic mice in which expression of green fluorescent protein is driven by the promoter for the homeodomain transcription factor Hb9, as well as Hb9-lacZ knock-in mic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of neuroscience 2005-06, Vol.25 (24), p.5710-5719
Main Authors: Wilson, Jennifer M, Hartley, Robert, Maxwell, David J, Todd, Andrew J, Lieberam, Ivo, Kaltschmidt, Julia A, Yoshida, Yutaka, Jessell, Thomas M, Brownstone, Robert M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
beta-Galactosidase - genetics
Cattle
Cellular/Molecular
Electrophysiology
Gene Expression Regulation
Green Fluorescent Proteins - genetics
Growth Hormone - genetics
Homeodomain Proteins - genetics
Immunohistochemistry
In Situ Hybridization
Interneurons - physiology
Mice
Mice, Transgenic
Promoter Regions, Genetic
Recombination, Genetic
RNA Splicing
Spinal Cord - physiology
Transcription Factors - genetics
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Summary:The properties of mammalian spinal interneurons that underlie rhythmic locomotor networks remain poorly described. Using postnatal transgenic mice in which expression of green fluorescent protein is driven by the promoter for the homeodomain transcription factor Hb9, as well as Hb9-lacZ knock-in mice, we describe a novel population of glutamatergic interneurons located adjacent to the ventral commissure from cervical to midlumbar spinal cord levels. Hb9+ interneurons exhibit strong postinhibitory rebound and demonstrate pronounced membrane potential oscillations in response to chemical stimuli that induce locomotor activity. These data provide a molecular and physiological delineation of a small population of ventral spinal interneurons that exhibit homogeneous electrophysiological features, the properties of which suggest that they are candidate locomotor rhythm-generating interneurons.
ISSN:0270-6474
1529-2401
DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0274-05.2005