Synaptic plasticity changes in the somatosensory cortex during amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progression and after swim training in SOD1-G93A mice

2026
journal article
article
dc.abstract.enSomatosensory cortex hyperexcitability is present in the pre-symptomatic stage of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as evidenced by brain recordings, but its synaptic basis remains unclear. We examined synaptic plasticity, the density of asymmetric (putative excitatory) and symmetric (putative inhibitory) synapses, dendritic spine morphology, and the putative excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) ratio in the B2 barrel of the somatosensory cortex in female mice of an ALS mouse model. Transgenic mice, B6SJL-Tg (SOD1*G93A)1Gur/J, were used as the ALS model, and wild-type (WT) B6SJL/F1 mice served as controls. ALS mice were allocated to experimental groups based on disease stage (pre-symptomatic, onset, or terminal) and training condition (swim-trained or untrained). Swim training was applied after the first onset of symptoms (clinical score 1). We analyzed and quantified the density of asymmetric (putative excitatory) and symmetric (putative inhibitory) synapses and E/I ratios using serial electron micrographs to understand how these parameters change during disease progression and whether swim training influences this process. Our results showed stage-dependent alterations in asymmetric (putative excitatory) and symmetric (putative inhibitory) synaptic architecture in ALS. The obtained data showed an increase in the excitatory synaptic density in the presymptomatic ALS mice. This finding is consistent with previous reports of early cortical hyperexcitability and may reflect structural alterations associated with an initial increase in excitatory synapses before disease onset. Importantly, we report here an increase in inhibitory synapses at disease onset. TEM-based synaptic density quantification revealed reduced excitatory synapse density in the B2 barrel of the somatosensory cortex of trained ALS mice compared to WT controls, alongside a trend toward a reduced putative excitatory/inhibitory synaptic ratio. However, as no significant differences were detected between trained and untrained ALS mice, the contribution of swim training to these alterations remains unclear. Notably, swim training was not associated with detectable adverse effects on somatosensory cortex ultrastructure, excitatory synapse density, or the putative excitatory/inhibitory ratio, supporting previous observations that swim training is well tolerated under these experimental conditions. To our knowledge, these results provide the first TEM-based ultrastructural characterization of synaptic architecture in swim-trained SOD1-G93A mice, although further studies are needed to establish the underlying mechanisms and therapeutic relevance in ALS.
dc.affiliationSzkoła Doktorska Nauk Ścisłych i Przyrodniczych
dc.affiliationWydział Lekarski : Zakład Histologii
dc.affiliationWydział Biologii : Instytut Zoologii i Badań Biomedycznych
dc.cm.idOmegaUJCMfbd92bccf06b4d06a418f6eee9a97239pl
dc.contributor.authorSaadat, Anbarieh - 475476
dc.contributor.authorJasińska, Małgorzata - 199998
dc.contributor.authorCedro, Bartosz
dc.contributor.authorPiekarska, Alicja
dc.contributor.authorFlis, Damian J.
dc.contributor.authorZiółkowski, Wiesław
dc.contributor.authorPyza, Elżbieta - 131603
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-26T12:12:09Z
dc.date.available2026-06-26T12:12:09Z
dc.date.createdat2026-06-26T05:55:03Zen
dc.date.issued2026
dc.date.openaccess0
dc.description.accesstimew momencie opublikowania
dc.description.number1
dc.description.versionostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume63
dc.identifier.articleid673
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s12035-026-05979-6
dc.identifier.issn0893-7648
dc.identifier.projectDRC AI
dc.identifier.urihttps://ruj.uj.edu.pl/handle/item/575800
dc.languageeng
dc.language.containereng
dc.rightsUdzielam licencji. Uznanie autorstwa 4.0 Międzynarodowa
dc.rights.licenceCC-BY
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.pl
dc.share.typeinne
dc.source.integratorfalse
dc.subject.enamyotrophic lateral sclerosis
dc.subject.ensynaptic plasticity
dc.subject.entransmission electron microscopy
dc.subject.enswim training
dc.subject.enexcitatory/inhibitory ratio
dc.subject.ensomatosensory cortex
dc.subtypeArticle
dc.titleSynaptic plasticity changes in the somatosensory cortex during amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progression and after swim training in SOD1-G93A mice
dc.title.journalMolecular Neurobiology
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typePublicationen
dc.abstract.en
Somatosensory cortex hyperexcitability is present in the pre-symptomatic stage of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as evidenced by brain recordings, but its synaptic basis remains unclear. We examined synaptic plasticity, the density of asymmetric (putative excitatory) and symmetric (putative inhibitory) synapses, dendritic spine morphology, and the putative excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) ratio in the B2 barrel of the somatosensory cortex in female mice of an ALS mouse model. Transgenic mice, B6SJL-Tg (SOD1*G93A)1Gur/J, were used as the ALS model, and wild-type (WT) B6SJL/F1 mice served as controls. ALS mice were allocated to experimental groups based on disease stage (pre-symptomatic, onset, or terminal) and training condition (swim-trained or untrained). Swim training was applied after the first onset of symptoms (clinical score 1). We analyzed and quantified the density of asymmetric (putative excitatory) and symmetric (putative inhibitory) synapses and E/I ratios using serial electron micrographs to understand how these parameters change during disease progression and whether swim training influences this process. Our results showed stage-dependent alterations in asymmetric (putative excitatory) and symmetric (putative inhibitory) synaptic architecture in ALS. The obtained data showed an increase in the excitatory synaptic density in the presymptomatic ALS mice. This finding is consistent with previous reports of early cortical hyperexcitability and may reflect structural alterations associated with an initial increase in excitatory synapses before disease onset. Importantly, we report here an increase in inhibitory synapses at disease onset. TEM-based synaptic density quantification revealed reduced excitatory synapse density in the B2 barrel of the somatosensory cortex of trained ALS mice compared to WT controls, alongside a trend toward a reduced putative excitatory/inhibitory synaptic ratio. However, as no significant differences were detected between trained and untrained ALS mice, the contribution of swim training to these alterations remains unclear. Notably, swim training was not associated with detectable adverse effects on somatosensory cortex ultrastructure, excitatory synapse density, or the putative excitatory/inhibitory ratio, supporting previous observations that swim training is well tolerated under these experimental conditions. To our knowledge, these results provide the first TEM-based ultrastructural characterization of synaptic architecture in swim-trained SOD1-G93A mice, although further studies are needed to establish the underlying mechanisms and therapeutic relevance in ALS.
dc.affiliation
Szkoła Doktorska Nauk Ścisłych i Przyrodniczych
dc.affiliation
Wydział Lekarski : Zakład Histologii
dc.affiliation
Wydział Biologii : Instytut Zoologii i Badań Biomedycznych
dc.cm.idOmegapl
UJCMfbd92bccf06b4d06a418f6eee9a97239
dc.contributor.author
Saadat, Anbarieh - 475476
dc.contributor.author
Jasińska, Małgorzata - 199998
dc.contributor.author
Cedro, Bartosz
dc.contributor.author
Piekarska, Alicja
dc.contributor.author
Flis, Damian J.
dc.contributor.author
Ziółkowski, Wiesław
dc.contributor.author
Pyza, Elżbieta - 131603
dc.date.accessioned
2026-06-26T12:12:09Z
dc.date.available
2026-06-26T12:12:09Z
dc.date.createdaten
2026-06-26T05:55:03Z
dc.date.issued
2026
dc.date.openaccess
0
dc.description.accesstime
w momencie opublikowania
dc.description.number
1
dc.description.version
ostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume
63
dc.identifier.articleid
673
dc.identifier.doi
10.1007/s12035-026-05979-6
dc.identifier.issn
0893-7648
dc.identifier.project
DRC AI
dc.identifier.uri
https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/handle/item/575800
dc.language
eng
dc.language.container
eng
dc.rights
Udzielam licencji. Uznanie autorstwa 4.0 Międzynarodowa
dc.rights.licence
CC-BY
dc.rights.uri
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.pl
dc.share.type
inne
dc.source.integrator
false
dc.subject.en
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
dc.subject.en
synaptic plasticity
dc.subject.en
transmission electron microscopy
dc.subject.en
swim training
dc.subject.en
excitatory/inhibitory ratio
dc.subject.en
somatosensory cortex
dc.subtype
Article
dc.title
Synaptic plasticity changes in the somatosensory cortex during amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progression and after swim training in SOD1-G93A mice
dc.title.journal
Molecular Neurobiology
dc.type
JournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeen
Publication
Affiliations

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