Olfactory experiences dynamically regulate plasticity of dendritic spines in granule cells of Xenopus tadpoles in vivo

Granule cells, rich in dendrites with densely punctated dendritic spines, are the most abundant inhibitory interneurons in the olfactory bulb. The dendritic spines of granule cells undergo remodeling during the development of the nervous system. The morphological plasticity of the spines’ response to different olfactory experiences in vivo is not fully known. In initial studies, a single granule cell in Xenopus tadpoles was labeled with GFP plasmids via cell electroporation; then, morphologic changes of the granule cell spines were visualized by in vivo confocal time-lapse imaging. With the help of long-term imaging, the total spine density, dynamics, and stability of four types of dendritic spines (mushroom, stubby, thin and filopodia) were obtained. Morphological analysis demonstrated that odor enrichment produced a remarkable increase in the spine density and stability of large mushroom spine. Then, with the help of short-term imaging, we analyzed the morphological transitions among different spines. We found that transitions between small spines (thin and filopodia) were more easily influenced by odor stimulation or olfactory deprivation. These results indicate that different olfactory experiences can regulate the morphological plasticity of different dendritic spines in the granule cell.