Purpose: To interrogate animal physiology in vivo, there is a lack of non-genetic methods to control the activity of endogenous proteins with pharmacological and spatiotemporal precision. To address this need, we recently developed targeted covalent photoswitchable (TCP) compounds that enable the remote control of endogenous glutamate receptors (GluRs) using light. Methods: We combine the photopharmacological effector TCP9 with neuronal activity sensors to demonstrate all-optical reversible control of endogenous GluRs across multiple spatiotemporal scales in rat brain tissue ex vivo and in Xenopus tadpole brains in vivo. Findings: TCP9 allows photoactivation of neuronal ensembles, individual neurons, and single synapses in ex vivo tissue and in intact brain in vivo, which is challenging using optogenetics and neurotransmitter uncaging. TCP9 covalently targets AMPA and kainate receptors, maintaining their functionality and photoswitchability for extended periods (>8 h) after a single compound application. This allows tracking endogenous receptor physiology during synaptic plasticity events such as the reduction of functional AMPA receptors during long-term depression in hippocampal neurons. Conclusion: TCP9 is a unique non-invasive tool for durable labeling, reversible photoswitching, and functional tracking of native receptors in brain tissue without genetic manipulation.
Acetylcholine and the cholinergic system are crucial to brain function, including functions such as consciousness and cognition. Dysregulation of this system is implicated in the pathophysiology of neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. For this reason, cholinergic neuromodulation is relevant in both basic neuroscience and clinical neurology. In this study, we used photopharmacology to modulate neuronal activity using the novel selective type-1 muscarinic (M1) photoswitchable drugs: the agonist benzyl quinolone carboxylic acid-azo-iperoxo (BAI) and the antagonist cryptozepine-2. Our aim was to investigate the control over these cholinergic receptors using light and to investigate the effects of these drugs on physiological spontaneous slow waves and on epileptic activity in the cerebral cortex. First, we used transfected HEK cell cultures and demonstrated BAI's preferential activation of M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) compared with M2 mAChRs. Next, we found that white-light illumination of BAI increased the frequency of spontaneous slow-wave activity in brain cortical networks of both active slices and anesthetized mice, through M1-mAChRs activation. Illumination of cryptozepine-2 with UV light effectively suppressed not only the muscarinic-induced increase in slow-wave frequency, but also muscarinic-induced epileptiform discharges. These findings not only shed light on the role of M1 acetylcholine receptors in the cortical network dynamics but also lay the groundwork for developing advanced light-based pharmacological therapies. Photopharmacology offers the potential for high-precision spatiotemporal control of brain networks with high pharmacological specificity in both healthy and pathological conditions.
Synaptic plasticity involves structural modifications in dendritic spines that are modulated by local protein synthesis and actin remodeling. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms that connect synaptic stimulation to these processes. We found that the phosphorylation of isoform-specific sites in eEF1A2-an essential translation elongation factor in neurons-is a key modulator of structural plasticity in dendritic spines. Expression of a nonphosphorylatable eEF1A2 mutant stimulated mRNA translation but reduced actin dynamics and spine density. By contrast, a phosphomimetic eEF1A2 mutant exhibited decreased association with F-actin and was inactive as a translation elongation factor. Activation of metabotropic glutamate receptor signaling triggered transient dissociation of eEF1A2 from its regulatory guanine exchange factor (GEF) protein in dendritic spines in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. We propose that eEF1A2 establishes a cross-talk mechanism that coordinates translation and actin dynamics during spine remodeling.
Synapses learn and remember by persistent modifications of their internal structures and composition but, due to their small size, it is difficult to observe these changes at the ultrastructural level in real time. Two-photon fluorescence microscopy (2PM) allows time-course live imaging of individual synapses but lacks ultrastructural resolution. Electron microscopy (EM) allows the ultrastructural imaging of subcellular components but cannot detect fluorescence and lacks temporal resolution. Here, we describe a combination of procedures designed to achieve the correlated imaging of the same individual synapse under both 2PM and EM. This technique permits the selective stimulation and live imaging of a single dendritic spine and the subsequent localization of the same spine in EM ultrathin serial sections. Landmarks created through a photomarking method based on the 2-photon-induced precipitation of an electrodense compound are used to unequivocally localize the stimulated synapse. This technique was developed to image, for the first time, the ultrastructure of the postsynaptic density in which long-term potentiation was selectively induced just seconds or minutes before, but it can be applied for the study of any biological process that requires the precise relocalization of micron-wide structures for their correlated imaging with 2PM and EM.
This work investigates the performance of cardiorespiratory analysis detecting periodic breathing (PB) in chest wall recordings in mountaineers climbing to extreme altitude. The breathing patterns of 34 mountaineers were monitored unobtrusively by inductance plethysmography, ECG and pulse oximetry using a portable recorder during climbs at altitudes between 4497 and 7546 m on Mt. Muztagh Ata. The minute ventilation (VE) and heart rate (HR) signals were studied, to identify visually scored PB, applying time-varying spectral, coherence and entropy analysis. In 411 climbing periods, 30–120 min in duration, high values of mean power (MPVE) and slope (MSlopeVE) of the modulation frequency band of VE, accurately identified PB, with an area under the ROC curve of 88 and 89 %, respectively. Prolonged stay at altitude was associated with an increase in PB. During PB episodes, higher peak power of ventilatory (MPVE) and cardiac (MP LF HR ) oscillations and cardiorespiratory coherence (MP LF Coher ), but reduced ventilation entropy (SampEnVE), was observed. Therefore, the characterization of cardiorespiratory dynamics by the analysis of VE and HR signals accurately identifies PB and effects of altitude acclimatization, providing promising tools for investigating physiologic effects of environmental exposures and diseases.
Garde, A., Giraldo, B.F., Jané, R., Latshang, T.D., Turk, A.J., Hess, T., Bosch, M-.M., Barthelmes, D., Hefti, J.P., Maggiorini, M., Hefti, U., Merz, T.M., Schoch, O.D., Bloch, K.E., (2012). Estudio de la respiración periódica en el ascenso a altitudes extremas a partir de la señal de volumen respiratorioLibro de Actas XXX CASEIB 2012 XXX Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Española de Ingeniería Biomédica (CASEIB2012) , Sociedad Española de Ingeniería Biomédica (San Sebastián, Spain) , 1-4
La respiración periódica (PB) a gran altitud comparte aspectos fisiopatológicos con la apnea, la respiración Cheyne-Stokes y la PB en pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca. Cuantificar las inestabilidades del control respiratorio puede proporcionar información relevante de los mecanismos fisiológicos que las producen, y ayudar en las actuaciones terapéuticas. Bajo la hipótesis de que en altitudes extremas la PB puede aparecer incluso durante actividad física, el objetivo es identificar la PB y evaluar el efecto de aclimatación a partir de la caracterización del patrón respiratorio mediante la señal de volumen respiratorio. Se analizaron los datos obtenidos de 34 montañeros sanos ascendiendo al Muztagh Ata, China (7,546m). Sus señales se etiquetaron visualmente como, respiración periódica (PB=40) y no periódica (nPB=371). El patrón respiratorio se caracterizó a partir de parámetros
extraídos de la densidad espectral de potencia de la señal de volumen respiratorio. Los mejores resultados clasificando PB y nPB se obtuvieron con Pm (potencia de modulación) y R (ratio entre potencia de modulación y respiración) con una precisión del 80.3% y un área bajo la curva de 84.5%. SaO2 y el número de ciclos periódicos de respiración aumentaron significativamente con la aclimatación (p-valor<0.05). A menor SaO2 se observó una mayor Pm y frecuencia respiratoria, (correlación negativa, p-valor<0.01), y una mayor Pm en periodos etiquetados como PB con > 5 ciclos respiratorios periódicos, (correlación positiva, p-valor<0.01). Estos resultados demuestran que la caracterización espectral de la señal de volumen respiratorio permite identificar los efectos de la hipoxia hipobárica en el control de la respiración.
High altitude periodic breathing (PB) shares some common pathophysiologic aspects with sleep apnea, Cheyne-Stokes respiration and PB in heart failure patients. Methods that allow quantifying instabilities of respiratory control provide valuable insights in physiologic mechanisms and help to identify therapeutic targets. Under the hypothesis that high altitude PB appears even during physical activity and can be identified in comparison to visual analysis in conditions of low SNR, this study aims to identify PB by characterizing the respiratory pattern through the respiratory volume signal. A number of spectral parameters are extracted from the power spectral density (PSD) of the volume signal, derived from respiratory inductive plethysmography and evaluated through a linear discriminant analysis. A dataset of 34 healthy mountaineers ascending to Mt. Muztagh Ata, China (7,546 m) visually labeled as PB and non periodic breathing (nPB) is analyzed. All climbing periods within all the ascents are considered (total climbing periods: 371 nPB and 40 PB). The best crossvalidated result classifying PB and nPB is obtained with Pm (power of the modulation frequency band) and R (ratio between modulation and respiration power) with an accuracy of 80.3% and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 84.5%. Comparing the subjects from 1st and 2nd ascents (at the same altitudes but the latter more acclimatized) the effect of acclimatization is evaluated. SaO2 and periodic breathing cycles significantly increased with acclimatization (p-value <; 0.05). Higher Pm and higher respiratory frequencies are observed at lower SaO2, through a significant negative correlation (p-value <; 0.01). Higher Pm is observed at climbing periods visually labeled as PB with >; 5 periodic breathing cycles through a significant positive correlation (p-value <; 0.01). Our data demonstrate that quantification of the respiratory volum- signal using spectral analysis is suitable to identify effects of hypobaric hypoxia on control of breathing.
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Garrido-Charles, A, Bosch, M, Lee, H, Rovira, X, Pittolo, S, Llobet, A, Wong, HHW, Trapero, A, Matera, C, Papotto, C, Serra, C, Llebaria, A, Soriano, E, Sanchez-Vives, MV, Holt, CE, Gorostiza, P, (2025). Photoswitching endogenous glutamate receptors in neural ensembles and single synapses in vivo Brain Stimulation 18, 1779-1793 
Synapse Development - Methods and Protocols (Methods in Molecular Biology) (ed. Poulopoulos , A.), Humana Press (New York, USA) 1538, 185-214