Neuroscience

Deciphering the chemical language of inbred and wild mouse conspecific scents

1. Maximilian Nagel
2. Marco Niestroj
3. Rohini Bansal
4. David Fleck
5. Angelika Lampert
6. Romana Stopkova
7. Pavel Stopka
8. Yoram Ben-Shaul
9. Marc Spehr

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This carefully executed study provides a comparison of the chemical composition of mouse urine across strain and sex with the responses of vomeronasal sensory neurons, which are responsible for detecting chemical social cues. While the authors did not examine all molecular classes found in mouse urine or directly test whether the urinary volatile chemicals that vary with sex and strain are effective vomeronasal neuron ligands, solid data are provided that will be of significant interest to those studying chemical communication in rodents. This work should provide a valuable foundation for future research that will determine which molecules drive sex- and strain-specific vomeronasal responses.

Reviewed by eLife

Knockdown of PHOX2B in the retrotrapezoid nucleus reduces the central CO2 chemoreflex in rats

1. Silvia Cardani
2. Tara A Janes
3. William Betzner
4. Silvia Pagliardini

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study utilizes a viral-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA) approach to investigate in a novel way the role of the wild-type PHOX2B transcription factor expressed in critical chemosensory neurons in the brainstem retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) region for maintaining normal CO2 chemoreflex control of breathing in adult rats. The convincing results show blunted ventilation during elevated inhaled CO2 (hypercapnia) with knockdown of PHOX2B, accompanied by a reduced expression of Gpr4 and Task2 mRNA for the proposed RTN neuron proton sensor proteins GPR4 and TASK2. These results indicate that maintained expression of wild-type PHOX2B affects respiratory control in adult animals, complementing previous studies showing that PHOX2B-expressing RTN neurons may be critical for chemosensory control throughout the lifespan, and with implications for neurological disorders involving the RTN, which will be of interest to neuroscientists studying respiratory neurobiology as well as the neurodevelopmental control of motor behavior.

Reviewed by eLife

Deciphering the genetic code of neuronal type connectivity through bilinear modeling

1. Mu Qiao

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This is an important computational study that applies the machine learning method of bilinear modeling to the problem of relating gene expression to connectivity. Specifically, the author attempts to use transcriptomic data from mouse retinal neurons to predict their known connectivity with promising results. On revision, the approach was tested against a second data set from C. elegans. A limited number of genes studied in this second dataset may have resulted in performance that matched but did not exceed prior models. However, taken together, the results were felt to provide solid evidence for the value of the approach.

Reviewed by eLife

Synchronous Ensembles of Hippocampal CA1 Pyramidal Neurons Associated with Theta but not Ripple Oscillations During Novel Exploration

1. En-Li Chen
2. Tsai-Wen Chen
3. Eric R. Schreiter
4. Bei-Jung Lin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The authors perform voltage imaging of CA1 pyramidal cells in head-fixed mice running on a track while local field potentials (LFPs) are recorded. They suggest that synchronous ensembles of neurons are differentially associated with different types of LFP patterns, namely theta and ripples. However, evidence for the potentially useful findings is currently incomplete due to major weaknesses in the experimental and analytical approach.

Reviewed by eLife

In mice, discrete odors can selectively promote the neurogenesis of sensory neuron subtypes that they stimulate

1. Kawsar Hossain
2. Madeline Smith
3. Stephen W. Santoro

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents valuable findings relevant to research on olfactory neurogenesis and long-term adaptation. The evidence, at this stage, is incomplete. First, the effects described could, in part, also be attributed to "downregulation" of OR subtype-specific neurogenesis upon sensory deprivation, instead of selectively increased neurogenesis. Second, additional control experiments would be needed to support the main claims and rule out alternative explanations.

Reviewed by eLife

Synergistic olfactory processing for social plasticity in desert locusts

1. Inga Petelski
2. Yannick Günzel
3. Sercan Sayin
4. Susanne Kraus
5. Einat Couzin-Fuchs

Reviewed by preLights

LRRK2 regulates synaptic function through BDNF signaling and actin cytoskeleton

1. Giulia Tombesi
2. Shiva Kompella
3. Giulia Favetta
4. Chuyu Chen
5. Yibo Zhao
6. Martina Sevegnani
7. Antonella Marte
8. Ilaria Battisti
9. Ester Morosin
10. Marta Ornaghi
11. Lucia Iannotta
12. Nicoletta Plotegher
13. Laura Civiero
14. Franco Onofri
15. Britta J Eickholt
16. Giovanni Piccoli
17. Giorgio Arrigoni
18. Dayne Beccano-Kelly
19. Claudia Manzoni
20. Loukia Parisiadou
21. Elisa Greggio

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study further discloses the function of LRRK2 in BDNF-dependent synaptic processes in identifying postsynaptic actin cytoskeleton as a convergent site of LRRK2 pathophysiological activity. Multiple approaches in different cellular models provide mostly solid (but at times preliminary) evidence to support (many) of the conclusions, overall consistent with bioinformatics analyses covering previously published work. While an exciting start that should be pursued, examples are suggested by reviewers to add in additional experimentation to better support the expansive interpretation. The identification of mechanisms of LRRK2 action at the synapse is considered highly significant, as better knowledge in this regard may provide insight into why dopaminergic cells die with over-active LRRK2.

Reviewed by eLife

A Pvr–AP-1–Mmp1 signaling pathway is activated in astrocytes upon traumatic brain injury

1. Tingting Li
2. Wenwen Shi
3. Margaret S. Ho
4. Yong Q. Zhang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study represents a valuable finding on the neuron-glia communication and glial responses to traumatic brain injury (TBI). The data supporting the authors' conclusions on TBI analysis, RNA-seq on FACS sorted astrocytes, genetic analyses on Pvr-JNK/MMP1 are solid. However, cellular aspects of the response to TBI, statistical analysis, and molecular links between Pvr-AP1 are incomplete, which could be further strengthened in the future by more rigorous analyses.

Reviewed by eLife

Pharyngeal Mechanosensory Neurons Control Food Swallow in Drosophila melanogaster

1. Jierui Qin
2. Tingting Yang
3. Kexin Li
4. Ting Liu
5. Wei Zhang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study investigates the role of mechanosensory feedback during swallowing in adult Drosophila. The authors provide convincing evidence that three mechanotransduction channel genes are required for ingestion rhythms and localize the role of these genes to a specific subpopulation of pharyngeal mechanosensory neurons. However, there is incomplete evidence to support the conclusions that these sensory neurons are necessary for swallowing, respond to stretch during swallowing, and connect to the motor neurons that control swallowing. This work may be of interest to neuroscientists interested in motor control of feeding behavior.

Reviewed by eLife

Large-scale deorphanization of Nematostella vectensis neuropeptide G protein-coupled receptors supports the independent expansion of bilaterian and cnidarian peptidergic systems

1. Daniel Thiel
2. Luis Alfonso Yañez Guerra
3. Amanda Kieswetter
4. Alison G Cole
5. Liesbet Temmerman
6. Ulrich Technau
7. Gáspár Jékely

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This work identifies cnidarian neuropeptides and pairs them to their GPCR, then shows that neuropeptide signaling systems have evolved and diversified independently in cnidarians and bilaterians. Neuropeptide-receptor partners were experimentally identified using established and widely used methodologies including single cell mapping, providing compelling evidence for the conclusions of the paper. This impressive accomplishment provides fundamental new insights into the evolution of neuropeptide signaling systems and will be of broad interest to neurobiologists and evolution of development researchers.

Reviewed by eLife