GABAA Receptor Alpha Subunits Play a Direct Role in Synaptic versus Extrasynaptic Targeting
نویسندگان
چکیده
Background: GABAA receptor γ2 and δ subunits are thought to be responsible for synaptic and extrasynaptic targeting. Results: We demonstrate here that α2 and α6 subunits can target δ/γ2 chimeras to synaptic and extrasynaptic sites. Conclusion: The α subunits play a direct role in GABAA receptor targeting. Significance: Different subunits of GABAA receptors encode intrinsic signals to control subcellular targeting.
منابع مشابه
The alpha 6 subunit of the GABAA receptor is concentrated in both inhibitory and excitatory synapses on cerebellar granule cells.
Although three distinct subunits seem to be sufficient to form a functional pentameric GABAA receptor channel, cerebellar granule cells express nRNA for nine subunits. They receive GABAergic input from a relatively homogenous population of Golgi cells. It is not known whether all subunits are distributed similarly on the surface of granule cells or whether some of them have differential subcell...
متن کاملSegregation of different GABAA receptors to synaptic and extrasynaptic membranes of cerebellar granule cells.
Two types of GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition (phasic and tonic) have been described in cerebellar granule cells, although these cells receive GABAergic input only from a single cell type, the Golgi cell. In adult rats, granule cells express six GABAA receptor subunits abundantly (alpha1, alpha6, beta2, beta3, gamma2, and delta), which are coassembled into at least four to six distinct GABAA ...
متن کاملRelative densities of synaptic and extrasynaptic GABAA receptors on cerebellar granule cells as determined by a quantitative immunogold method.
Ion channels gated by the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are thought to be located in synaptic junctions, but they have also been found throughout the somatodendritic membrane of neurons independent of synapses. To test whether synaptic junctions are enriched in GABAA receptors, and to determine the relative densities of synaptic and extrasynaptic receptors, the alph...
متن کاملGABAA Receptor Subunits in Rat Testis and Sperm
Background γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is considered to be the predominant inhibitory neurotransmitter in mammalian central nervous systems (CNS). There are two major classes of GABA receptors: GABAARs and GABABRs. The GABAA receptor is derived from various subunits such as alpha1-alpha 6, beta1-beta 3, gamma1-gamma 4, delta, epsilon, pi, and rho1-3. Intensive research has been performed to und...
متن کاملHomeostatic competition between phasic and tonic inhibition.
The GABAA receptors are the major inhibitory receptors in the brain and are localized at both synaptic and extrasynaptic membranes. Synaptic GABAA receptors mediate phasic inhibition, whereas extrasynaptic GABAA receptors mediate tonic inhibition. Both phasic and tonic inhibitions regulate neuronal activity, but whether they regulate each other is not very clear. Here, we investigated the funct...
متن کامل