Current treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have long-term side effects such that new treatments are needed that can safely help manage the disease. There is a growing appreciation that GABA receptors (GABA-Rs) on immune cells provide new targets that can be used to modulate immune cell activity. Here, we show for the first time that activation of peripheral GABA-Rs can inhibit the develop...

The GABA(A) receptor is a target of endogenous and synthetic neurosteroids. Little is known about the residues required for neurosteroid action on GABA(A) receptors. We have investigated pregnenolone sulfate (PS) inhibition of the Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-49 GABA receptor, a close homolog of the mammalian GABA(A) receptor. The UNC-49 locus encodes two GABA receptor subunits, UNC-49B and UNC-4...

We have developed a model of GABAergic synaptic transmission mediated by GABA A and GABA B receptors, including cooperativity in the G-protein cascade mediating the activation of K + channels by GABA B receptors. If the binding of several G-proteins is needed to activate the K + channels, then only a prolonged activation of GABA B receptors evoked detectable currents. This could occur if strong...

The first syntheses of fluorine-18 labeled inhibitors of GABA reuptake [(R,S)-1-[2-[4-[18F]fluorophenyl]phenyl]methoxyethyl]piperidine- 3-carboxylic acid, (R,S)-1-[2-[(4-[18F]trifluoromethyl)phenyl][(4- trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-methoxyethyl]piperidine-3-carboxylic acid] are described. These N-substituted nipecotic acid derivatives were prepared in no-carrier-added form by the condensation of the...

GABA transporters belong to a large family of neurotransmitter:sodium symporters. They are widely expressed throughout the brain, with different levels of expression in different brain regions. GABA transporters are present in neurons and in astrocytes and their activity is crucial to regulate the extracellular concentration of GABA under basal conditions and during ongoing synaptic events. Num...

In the field of anxiety research, animal models are used as screening tools in the search for compounds with therapeutic potential and as simulations for research on mechanism underlying emotional behaviour. However, a solely pharmacological approach to the validation of such tests has resulted in distinct problems with their applicability to systems other than those involving the benzodiazepin...

?-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino that accumulates in many plant species response to environmental stress. A number of reverse-genetic experiments and omics analyses have revealed positive relationships between GABA levels tolerance stresses. Furthermore, the application exogenous has been demonstrated effectively reduce ROS levels, enhance membrane stability modulate phytohormo...

The involvement of inhibitory transmitters for Ptychodiscus brevis toxin (PbTx)-induced depression of spinal synaptic transmission in neonatal rats was investigated. Stimulation of a dorsal root evoked monosynaptic reflex (MSR) and polysynaptic reflex (PSR) potentials in the segmental ventral root. The PbTx depressed the reflexes in a concentration-dependent manner and this depression was block...

The excitatory action of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is considered to be a hallmark of the developing nervous system. However, in immature brain slices, excitatory GABA actions may be secondary to neuronal injury during slice preparation. Here, we explored GABA actions in the rodent intact hippocampal preparations and at different depths of hippocampal slices during the early post-natal peri...

GABAA receptor (GABAAR) pentamers are assembled from a pool of 19 subunits, and variety in subunit combinations diversifies GABAAR functions to tune brain activity. Pentamers with distinct subunit compositions localize differentially at synaptic and non-synaptic sites to mediate phasic and tonic inhibition, respectively. Despite multitudes of theoretical permutations, limited subunit combinatio...