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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.08.21.554224

A hyperpolarizing neuron recruits undocked innexin hemichannels to transmit neural information in Caenorhabditis elegans

Nakayama, A.·Watanabe, M.·Yamashiro, R.·Kuroyanagi, H.·Oshima, A.·Mori, I.·Nakano, S.
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Abstract

While depolarization of neuronal membrane is known to evoke the neurotransmitter release from synaptic vesicles, hyperpolarization is regarded as a resting state of chemical neurotransmission. Here we report that hyperpolarizing neurons can actively signal neural information by employing undocked hemichannels. We show that UNC-7, a member of the innexin family in Caenorhabditis elegans, functions as a hemichannel in thermosensory neurons and transmits temperature information from the thermosensory neurons to their post-synaptic interneurons. By monitoring neural activities in freely behaving animals, we find that hyperpolarizing thermosensory neurons inhibit the activity of the interneurons and that UNC-7 hemichannels regulate this process. UNC-7 is required to control thermotaxis behavior and functions independently of synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Our findings suggest that innexin hemichannels mediate neurotransmission from hyperpolarizing neurons in a manner that is distinct from the synaptic transmission, expanding the way of neural circuitry operations.

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Nakayama, A., Watanabe, M., Yamashiro, R., Kuroyanagi, H., Oshima, A., Mori, I., Nakano, S.. 2023-08-22. A hyperpolarizing neuron recruits undocked innexin hemichannels to transmit neural information in Caenorhabditis elegans. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.21.554224

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