Astrocyte calcium signaling transforms cholinergic modulation to cortical plasticity in vivo

Global brain state dynamics regulate plasticity in local cortical circuits, but the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms are unclear. Here, we demonstrate that astrocyte Ca ²⁺ signaling provides a critical bridge between cholinergic activation, associated with attention and vigilance states, and somatosensory plasticity in mouse barrel cortex in vivo. We investigated first whether a combined stimulation of mouse whiskers and the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM), the principal source of cholinergic innervation to the cortex, leads to enhanced whisker-evoked local field potential. This plasticity is dependent on muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChR) and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptors (NMDARs). During the induction of this synaptic plasticity, we find that astrocytic [Ca ²⁺] _i is pronouncedly elevated, which is blocked by mAChR antagonists. The elevation of astrocytic [Ca ²⁺] _i is crucial in this type of synaptic plasticity, as the plasticity could not be induced in inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 2 knock-out (IP ₃R2-KO) mice, in which astrocytic [Ca ²⁺] _i surges are diminished. Moreover, NBM stimulation led to a significant increase in the extracellular concentration of the NMDAR coagonist D-serine in wild-type mice when compared to IP ₃R2-KO mice. Finally, plasticity in IP ₃R2-KO mice could be rescued by externally supplying D-serine. Our data present coherent lines of in vivo evidence for astrocytic involvement in cortical plasticity. These findings suggest an unexpected role of astrocytes as a gate for cholinergic plasticity in the cortex.