Non-canonical role for Lpar1-EGFP subplate neurons in early postnatal mouse somatosensory cortex
- University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- Sensae, Germany
- University of Minnesota Medical School, United States
Abstract
Subplate neurons (SPNs) are thought to play a role in nascent sensory processing in neocortex. To better understand how heterogeneity within this population relates to emergent function, we investigated the synaptic connectivity of Lpar1-EGFP SPNs through the first postnatal week in whisker somatosensory cortex (S1BF). These SPNs comprise of two morphological subtypes: fusiform SPNs with local axons, and pyramidal SPNs with axons that extend through the marginal zone. The former receive translaminar synaptic input up until the emergence of the whisker barrels; a timepoint coincident with significant cell death. In contrast, pyramidal SPNs receive local input from the subplate at early ages but then – during the later time window, acquire input from overlying cortex. Combined electrical and optogenetic activation of thalamic afferents identified that Lpar1-EGFP SPNs receive sparse thalamic innervation. These data reveal components of the postnatal network that interpret sparse thalamic input to direct the emergent columnar structure of S1BF.
Data availability
All data generated and analysed during this study are available via the University of Oxford open access data repository (https://ora.ox.ac.uk)
Article and author information
Author details
Andre Marques-Smith
Funding
Wellcome Trust (215199/Z/19/Z)
- Filippo Ghezzi
Wellcome Trust (086362/Z/08/Z)
- Andre Marques-Smith
Medical Research Council (MR/K004387/1)
- Simon J B Butt
Human Frontiers Science Program Organisation (CDA0023/2008-C)
- Simon J B Butt
Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (19079)
- Simon J B Butt
Wellcome Trust (089286/Z/09/Z)
- Simon J B Butt
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Animal experimentation: Animal care and experimental procedures were approved by the University of Oxford local ethical review committee and conducted in accordance with UK Home Office personal and project (70/6767; 30/3052; P861F9BB75) licenses under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) 1986 Act.
Copyright
© 2021, Ghezzi et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Non-canonical role for Lpar1-EGFP subplate neurons in early postnatal mouse somatosensory cortex
eLife 10:e60810.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.60810
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