An axon-specific expression of HCN channels catalyzes fast action potential signaling in GABAergic interneurons

Fabian C. Roth and Hua Hu ()
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Fabian C. Roth: Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo
Hua Hu: Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract During high-frequency network activities, fast-spiking, parvalbumin-expressing basket cells (PV+-BCs) generate barrages of fast synaptic inhibition to control the probability and precise timing of action potential (AP) initiation in principal neurons. Here we describe a subcellular specialization that contributes to the high speed of synaptic inhibition mediated by PV+-BCs. Mapping of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channel distribution in rat hippocampal PV+-BCs with subcellular patch-clamp methods revealed that functional HCN channels are exclusively expressed in axons and completely absent from somata and dendrites. HCN channels not only enhance AP initiation during sustained high-frequency firing but also speed up the propagation of AP trains in PV+-BC axons by dynamically opposing the hyperpolarization produced by Na+-K+ ATPases. Since axonal AP signaling determines the timing of synaptic communication, the axon-specific expression of HCN channels represents a specialization for PV+-BCs to operate at high speed.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15791-y

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