Asel Aydeger, Sena Yildirim, Tuba Akgul Caglar, Asal Ghaffari Zaki, Seyed Mohammad Miri, Joudi Armouch, Hamzah Issa, Esranur Yavuz, Arda Kebapçı, Mehmet Koçak, Roland Malli, Pierre Gressens, Nikolaus Plesnila, Emrah Eroglu
Nitric oxide (NO) and calcium (Ca2+) are tightly interconnected mediators of neuronal signaling, yet their dynamic relationship in primary neurons has remained widely unexplored. Here we report a bicistronic dual biosensor that combines jGCaMP8s for high-sensitivity Ca2+ imaging with the orange fluorescent NO reporter O-geNOps, delivered by adeno-associated virus (AAV) to primary hippocampal neurons. We establish imaging conditions optimized for physiological temperature and oxygen, which critically shape NO bioavailability. Under these conditions, spontaneous Ca2+ spikes and network activity are largely insufficient to elicit detectable NO production, whereas robust Ca2+ elevation by high extracellular K+ (50 mM) or glutamate (30 μM) evokes robust NO signals that surpass responses to exogenous NO donors. Conversely, both endogenous and exogenously applied NO dampen spontaneous Ca2+ spikes, revealing feedback control of neuronal excitability in the hippocampus. Together, these findings demonstrate bidirectional functional coupling between Ca2+ and NO signals in primary hippocampal neurons and introduce an informative approach for dual-color visualization of both messengers under near-physiological conditions.