The importance of astrocytic Ca2+ fluctuations in synaptic function has been challenged by the finding that mice devoid of inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate type 2 receptors (IP3R2s) — which are enriched in astrocytes — show normal neuronal and vascular responses. Although changes in intracellular Ca2+ in astrocyte somata were abolished in mice lacking IP3R2, they were retained in astrocytic processes. Moreover, Ca2+ fluctuations were modulated by both neurotransmitter release and pharmacological stimuli, thus providing a possible explanation for the apparently contradictory earlier findings.
References
Srinivasan, R. et al. Ca2+ signaling in astrocytes from Ip3r2−/− mice in brain slices and during startle responses in vivo. Neuron 18, 708–717 (2015)
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Lewis, S. The devil in the detail. Nat Rev Neurosci 16, 316 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3973
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3973
