Caveolae in CNS arterioles mediate neurovascular coupling

Brian W. Chow, Vicente Nuñez, Luke Kaplan, Adam J. Granger, Karina Bistrong, Hannah L. Zucker, Payal Kumar, Bernardo L. Sabatini and Chenghua Gu ()
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Brian W. Chow: Harvard Medical School
Vicente Nuñez: Harvard Medical School
Luke Kaplan: Harvard Medical School
Adam J. Granger: Harvard Medical School
Karina Bistrong: Harvard Medical School
Hannah L. Zucker: Harvard Medical School
Payal Kumar: Harvard Medical School
Bernardo L. Sabatini: Harvard Medical School
Chenghua Gu: Harvard Medical School

Nature, 2020, vol. 579, issue 7797, 106-110

Abstract: Abstract Proper brain function depends on neurovascular coupling: neural activity rapidly increases local blood flow to meet moment-to-moment changes in regional brain energy demand1. Neurovascular coupling is the basis for functional brain imaging2, and impaired neurovascular coupling is implicated in neurodegeneration1. The underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurovascular coupling remain poorly understood. The conventional view is that neurons or astrocytes release vasodilatory factors that act directly on smooth muscle cells (SMCs) to induce arterial dilation and increase local blood flow1. Here, using two-photon microscopy to image neural activity and vascular dynamics simultaneously in the barrel cortex of awake mice under whisker stimulation, we found that arteriolar endothelial cells (aECs) have an active role in mediating neurovascular coupling. We found that aECs, unlike other vascular segments of endothelial cells in the central nervous system, have abundant caveolae. Acute genetic perturbations that eliminated caveolae in aECs, but not in neighbouring SMCs, impaired neurovascular coupling. Notably, caveolae function in aECs is independent of the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS)-mediated NO pathway. Ablation of both caveolae and eNOS completely abolished neurovascular coupling, whereas the single mutants exhibited partial impairment, revealing that the caveolae-mediated pathway in aECs is a major contributor to neurovascular coupling. Our findings indicate that vasodilation is largely mediated by endothelial cells that actively relay signals from the central nervous system to SMCs via a caveolae-dependent pathway.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2026-1

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