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Research Article

Astrocytic β2-adrenergic receptors mediate hippocampal long-term memory consolidation

Virginia Gao, Akinobu Suzuki, Pierre J. Magistretti, Sylvain Lengacher, Gabriella Pollonini, Michael Q. Steinman, and Cristina M. Alberini
PNAS July 26, 2016 113 (30) 8526-8531; first published July 8, 2016; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1605063113
Virginia Gao
aCenter for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003;
bFriedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029;
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Akinobu Suzuki
bFriedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029;
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Pierre J. Magistretti
cDivision of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
dBrain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;
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Sylvain Lengacher
dBrain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;
eDepartment of Psychiatry, Centre for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital, 1008 Lausanne-Prilly, Switzerland
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Gabriella Pollonini
aCenter for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003;
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Michael Q. Steinman
aCenter for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003;
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Cristina M. Alberini
aCenter for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003;
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  • For correspondence: ca60@nyu.edu
  1. Edited by James L. McGaugh, University of California, Irvine, CA, and approved June 7, 2016 (received for review March 28, 2016)

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Significance

Experiences are remembered long-term when these memories are formed in a state of arousal and heightened emotion. The arousal-induced release of noradrenaline is critical for modulating consolidation, the process that establishes long-term memory. Although the effects of pharmacological manipulation of adrenergic signaling on memory stability are already being investigated in the clinical setting, how adrenergic receptors mediate long-term memory consolidation remains unclear. This study reports a previously unidentified mechanism with important translational implications: The noradrenergic receptors that in the hippocampus mediate memory consolidation are β2-adrenergic receptors (β2ARs) expressed in astrocytes. These receptors are necessary for the learning-evoked release of lactate from astrocytes, which then is required to support the neuronal molecular changes essential for long-term memory formation.

Abstract

Emotionally relevant experiences form strong and long-lasting memories by critically engaging the stress hormone/neurotransmitter noradrenaline, which mediates and modulates the consolidation of these memories. Noradrenaline acts through adrenergic receptors (ARs), of which β2-adrenergic receptors (βARs) are of particular importance. The differential anatomical and cellular distribution of βAR subtypes in the brain suggests that they play distinct roles in memory processing, although much about their specific contributions and mechanisms of action remains to be understood. Here we show that astrocytic rather than neuronal β2ARs in the hippocampus play a key role in the consolidation of a fear-based contextual memory. These hippocampal β2ARs, but not β1ARs, are coupled to the training-dependent release of lactate from astrocytes, which is necessary for long-term memory formation and for underlying molecular changes. This key metabolic role of astrocytic β2ARs may represent a novel target mechanism for stress-related psychopathologies and neurodegeneration.

  • astrocyte
  • memory
  • hippocampus
  • β-adrenergic receptor
  • lactate

Footnotes

  • ↵1Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.

  • ↵2To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: ca60{at}nyu.edu.
  • Author contributions: V.G., A.S., and C.M.A. designed research; V.G., A.S., S.L., G.P., and M.Q.S. performed research; P.J.M. and S.L. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; V.G., A.S., G.P., and C.M.A. analyzed data; and V.G., P.J.M., and C.M.A. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1605063113/-/DCSupplemental.

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Astrocytic β2-ARs mediate memory
Virginia Gao, Akinobu Suzuki, Pierre J. Magistretti, Sylvain Lengacher, Gabriella Pollonini, Michael Q. Steinman, Cristina M. Alberini
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2016, 113 (30) 8526-8531; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1605063113

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Astrocytic β2-ARs mediate memory
Virginia Gao, Akinobu Suzuki, Pierre J. Magistretti, Sylvain Lengacher, Gabriella Pollonini, Michael Q. Steinman, Cristina M. Alberini
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2016, 113 (30) 8526-8531; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1605063113
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