Intracellular ion signalling and neuron-glia interaction at central synapses

Maintenance of ion gradients across the plasma membrane is a fundamental property of living cells. In the nervous system, these ion gradients are the basis for electrical excitability and electrical signaling. In addition, ions act as intracellular second messengers, and dynamic changes in the cytosolic ion concentration regulate many cellular processes.

Our institute is devoted to the study and elucidation of intracellular ion signalling in the vertebrate brain, its cellular pathways and its functional consequences under physiological as well as pathophysiological conditions. A special focus is set on the function of astrocytes and their interaction with neurons at glutamatergic synapses of the mouse hippocampus, cortex and cerebellum. Furthermore, we are mainly concentrating on elucidating intracellular sodium signalling as a new form of ionic excitability of neurons and astrocytes.

To this end, we employ dynamic high-resolution imaging such as multi-photon laser scanning microscopy and various electrophysiological techniques in both neurons and glial cells of the mouse brain in situ.

see also: PubMed

1. Nelson JSE, Meyer J, Gerkau NJ, Kafitz KW, Ullah G, Santamaria F, Rose CR (2025): Spatio-temporal dynamics of lateral Na⁺ diffusion in apical dendrites of mouse CA1 pyramidal neurons. J Neurosci, Oct 29;45(44):e0077252025. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0077-25.2025. DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.06.668873
2. Petersilie L, Kafitz KW, Neu LA, Heiduschka S, Le S, Prigione A& Rose CR (2024): Protocol for the generation of cultured cortical brain organoid slices. STAR Protoc. 2024 Sep 20;5(3):103212. DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103212
3. Rose CR & Verkhratsky A (2023): Sodium homeostasis and signalling: the core and the hub of astrocyte function. Cell Calcium, 2024 Jan:117:102817. DOI: 10.1016/j.ceca.2023.102817
4. Meyer J, Gerkau NJ, Kafitz KW, Patting M, Jolmes F, Henneberger C & Rose CR (2022): Rapid fluorescence lifetime imaging reveals that TRPV4 channels promote dysregulation of neuronal Na⁺ in ischemia. J Neuroscience 2022 Jan 26;42(4):552-566. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0819-21.2021
5. Kalia M, Meijer HGE, van Gils SA, van Putten MJAM & Rose CR (2021): Ion dynamics at the energy-deprived tripartite synapse. PLoS Comput Biol. 2021 Jun 18;17(6):e1009019. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009019
6. Gerkau NJ, Lerchundi R, Nelson JE, Lantermann M, Meyer J, Hirrlinger J & Rose CR (2019): Relation between activity-induced intracellular sodium loading and ATP dynamics in mouse hippocampal neurons. J Physiol 2019 Dec;597(23):5687-5705. DOI: 10.1113/JP278658
7. Lerchundi R, Huang N & Rose CR (2020): Quantitative imaging of changes in astrocytic and neuronal ATP using two different variants of ATeam. Front Cell Neurosci 2020 Apr 21:14:80. DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2020.00080
8. Ziemens D, Oschmann F, Gerkau NJ & Rose CR (2019): Heterogeneity of activity-induced sodium transients between astrocytes of the mouse hippocampus and neocortex: Mechanisms and consequences. J Neurosci. 2019 Apr 3;39(14):2620-2634. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2029-18.2019
9. Gerkau NJ, Rakers C, Durry S, Petzold GC, Rose CR (2018): Reverse NCX Attenuates Cellular Sodium Loading in Metabolically Compromised Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2018 Dec 1;28(12):4264-4280. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx280
10. Steffensen AB, Oernbo EK, Stoica A, Gerkau NJ, Barbuskaite D, Tritsari K, Rose CR, MacAulay N (2018): Cotransporter-mediated water transport underlying cerebrospinal fluid formation. Nat Commun. 2018 Jun 4;9(1):2167. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04677-9