@article {Iwai753095, author = {Youichi Iwai and Katsuya Ozawa and Kazuko Yahagi and Mika Tanaka and Shigeyoshi Itohara and Hajime Hirase}, title = {Transient astrocytic Gq signaling underlies remote memory enhancement}, elocation-id = {753095}, year = {2019}, doi = {10.1101/753095}, publisher = {Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory}, abstract = {Astrocytes elicit transient Ca2+ elevations induced by G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), yet their role in vivo remains unknown. To address this, transgenic mice with astrocytic expression of the optogenetic Gq-type GPCR, Optoα1AR, were established, in which transient Ca2+ elevations similar to those in wild type mice were induced by brief blue light illumination. Activation of cortical astrocytes resulted in an adenosine A1 receptor-dependent inhibition of neuronal activity. Moreover, sensory stimulation with astrocytic activation induced long-term depression of sensory evoked response. At the behavioral level, repeated astrocytic activation in the anterior cortex gradually affected novel open field exploratory behavior, and remote memory was enhanced in a novel object recognition task. These effects were blocked by A1 receptor antagonism. On the other hand, compelling evidence for astrocytic Ca2+-induced diameter changes of arteries was not observed. Together, we demonstrate that GPCR-triggered Ca2+ elevation in cortical astrocytes has causal impacts on neuronal activity and behavior.}, URL = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/02/753095}, eprint = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/02/753095.full.pdf}, journal = {bioRxiv} }