Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.08.16.455953

Molecular signature and target-specificity of inhibitory circuits formed by Martinotti cells in the mouse barrel cortex

Donato, C.·Cabezas, C.·Aguirre, A.·Lourenco, J.·Potier, M.-C.·Zorrilla de San Martin, J.·Bacci, A.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

In the neocortex, fast synaptic inhibition orchestrates both spontaneous and sensory-evoked activity. GABAergic interneurons (INs) inhibit pyramidal neurons (PNs) directly, modulating their output activity and thus contributing to balance cortical networks. Moreover, several IN subtypes also inhibit other INs, forming specific disinhibitory circuits, which play crucial roles in several cognitive functions. Here, we studied a homogeneous subpopulation of somatostatin (SST)-positive INs, the Martinotti cells (MCs) in layer 2/3 of the mouse barrel cortex (both sexes). MCs are a prominent IN subclass inhibiting the distal portion of PN apical dendrites, thus controlling dendrite electrogenesis and synaptic integration. Yet, it is poorly understood whether MCs inhibit other elements of the cortical circuits, and the connectivity properties with non-PN targets are unknown. We found that MCs have a strong preference for PN dendrites, but they also considerably connect with parvalbumin (PV)-positive, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-expressing and layer 1 (L1) INs. Remarkably, GABAergic synapses from MCs exhibited clear cell-type-specific short-term plasticity. Moreover, whereas the biophysical properties of MC-PN synapses were consistent with distal dendritic inhibition, MC-IN synapses exhibited characteristics of fast perisomatic inhibition. Finally, MC-PN connections used 5-containing GABAARs, but this subunit was not expressed by the other INs targeted by MCs. We reveal a specialized connectivity blueprint of MCs within different elements of superficial cortical layers. In addition, our results identify 5-GABAARs as the molecular fingerprint of MC-PN dendritic inhibition. This is of critical importance, given the role of 5-GABAARs in cognitive performance and their involvement in several brain diseases. Significance statementMartinotti cells (MCs) are a prominent subclass of SST-expressing GABAergic INs, specialized in controlling distal dendrites of PNs and taking part in several cognitive functions. Here we characterize the connectivity pattern of MCs with other INs in the superficial layers (L1 and L2/3) of the mouse barrel cortex. We found that the connectivity pattern of MCs with PNs as well as PV, VIP and L1 INs exhibit target-specific plasticity and biophysical properties. The stark specificity of 5-GABAARs at MC-PN synapses, and the lack or functional expression of this subunit by other cell types, define the molecular identity of MC-PN connections and the exclusive involvement of this outstanding inhibitory circuits in 5-dependent cognitive tasks.

Explore related subjects

neurosciencePreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Donato, C., Cabezas, C., Aguirre, A., Lourenco, J., Potier, M.-C., Zorrilla de San Martin, J., Bacci, A.. 2021-08-17. Molecular signature and target-specificity of inhibitory circuits formed by Martinotti cells in the mouse barrel cortex. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.16.455953

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Cell Types in Describing Neuronal Physiological Features

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) captures detailed gene expression profiles at scale, while patch-clamp recordings measure intrinsic neuronal electrophysiological properties. Modeling the relations between these two modalities remains a challenge. Here, we compare how well electrophysiological features can be predicted by traditional transcriptomic cell type classification, representations derived from a foundational model (scGPT) pretrained on large-scale scRNA-seq datasets, ion channel-coding genes, and highly variable genes. Using paired transcriptomic and electrophysiological patch-sequencing data from 495 human neurons from neurosurgical tissue, we find that cluster-level cell type representations consistently outperform highly variable gene selection, ion channel gene selection, and context-enriched scGPT embeddings. Notably, performance varies across model architectures and initializations, and the best results are obtained by combining the outputs of separate cell type and scGPT-based models. Together, these findings suggest that traditional discrete cellular classification is highly effective in predicting physiological features. For maximum performance it can be complemented by pretrained transformer models.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

A nonlinear inhibition pathway underlying cortical responses to tuned holographic optogenetic perturbations

Optogenetics enables causal manipulation of cortical activity. Perturbation responses can be counterintuitive due to network interactions, making theory essential for predicting them. Existing approaches often rely on linear approximations, which fail for many biologically relevant perturbations. Here we develop a nonlinear theory of responses to holographic perturbations in cell-type-specific recurrent networks with structured connectivity. We fit a nonlinear model to mouse V1 data, which shows cotuned-ensemble suppression: perturbing spatially clustered neurons with similar preferred orientations yields markedly stronger short-range suppression than perturbing untuned ensembles. We show that cotuned-ensemble suppression arises from a feature-tuned, nonlinear inhibition pathway implicating somatostatin-positive (SST) interneurons. The theory predicts that cotuned ensembles suppress parvalbumin-positive (PV) neurons but facilitate SST neurons, and links the degree of cotuned-ensemble suppression or facilitation to the variance of the SST response. This framework identifies mechanisms by which nonlinear inhibition sculpts cortical dynamics and establishes a predictive basis for targeted optogenetic interventions.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Proteomic signatures of APOE ε4 across human tissues and cell types in Alzheimers disease

The apolipoprotein E {varepsilon}4 (APOE {varepsilon}4) allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimers disease (AD). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study included 1691 participants from the Religious Orders Study and Rush Memory and Aging Project (ROSMAP), 1226 participants from the Accelerating Medicines Partnership - Alzheimers Disease (AMP-AD) Diverse Cohorts Study, and 735 participants from the Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). To characterise APOE {varepsilon}4 molecular effects, we analysed proteomic data from plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived astrocytes and neurons, as well as transcriptomic and proteomic data from multiple brain regions. The association of APOE {varepsilon}4 with AD neuropathology was also examined. APOE {varepsilon}4 carriers shared a plasma proteomic signature enriched for immune processes, irrespective of AD diagnosis. A machine learning classifier trained on this signature discriminated APOE {varepsilon}4 carriers from non-carriers in an independent cohort using CSF proteomics. APOE {varepsilon}4 carriage was associated with higher Braak stages and Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimers Disease (CERAD) score. However, only limited APOE {varepsilon}4-associated transcriptomic and proteomic changes were observed in bulk brain tissue, with poor cross-layer concordance. Proteomic analyses of iPSC-derived astrocytes and neurons further revealed cell-type-specific APOE {varepsilon}4-associated changes. APOE {varepsilon}4 is associated with a consistent proteomic signature across plasma and CSF. Its molecular effects in the brain differ across cell types, brain regions and molecular layers. These findings support the need for cell-type-resolved multi-omic studies to elucidate how APOE {varepsilon}4 confers AD risk.

neuroscience↗