Classical neurotransmitters, such as glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), often have different actions on invertebrate neurons from those reported for vertebrate neurons. In the terrestrial mollusk Limax, glutamate was found to function as an inhibitory transmitter in the procerebrum (PC), but it has not yet been clarified how GABA acts in the PC. We thus examined what effects GABA exerts ...

OBJECTIVE Paracrine signaling via gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and GABA(A) receptors (GABA(A)Rs) has been documented in rodent islets. Here we have studied the importance of GABAergic signaling in human pancreatic islets. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Expression of GABA(A)Rs in islet cells was investigated by quantitative PCR, immunohistochemistry, and patch-clamp experiments. Hormone release...

During rat cortical development, when neurons migrate from the ventricular zone to the cortical plate, GABA localizes within the target destinations of migratory neurons. At this time, cells in germinal zones and along migratory pathways express GABA receptor subunit transcripts, implying that in vivo, GABA may be a chemoattractant. We used an in vitro strategy to study putative chemotropic eff...

BACKGROUND gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter which mainly mediates its effects on neurons via ionotropic (GABA(A)) and metabotropic (GABA(B)) receptors. GABA(B) receptors are widely expressed in the central and the peripheral nervous system. Although there is evidence for a key function of GABA(B) receptors in the modulation of pain, the relative contrib...

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, and it is produced via the enzymatic activity of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD). GABA generates fast biological signaling through type A receptors (GABA(A)R), an anionic channel. Intriguingly, GABA is found in the jejunum epithelium of rats. The present study intended to determine whether a f...

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino known for its role in the nervous system of animals. However, research has also revealed presence and function plants recently. In plants, GABA signal molecule involved multiple physiological processes, including stress response, growth, development. This review aims to present thorough summary current knowledge regarding plants. We begin by...

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the most prominent neuroinhibitory transmitter in the brain, where it activates neuronal GABA-A receptors (GABA-A channels) located at synapses and outside of synapses. The GABA-A receptors are primary targets of many clinically useful drugs. In recent years, GABA has been shown to act as an immunomodulatory molecule. We have examined in human, mouse and rat CD4(+)...

Characterization of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)(B) receptor involved in the motility of dog small intestine was analyzed by application of the microdialysis method to the small intestine of the whole body of the dog. The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used. Intraarterial administration of muscimol induced acceleration of motility associated with acetylcholin...

GABA depolarizes immature cortical neurons. However, whether GABA excites immature neocortical neurons and drives network oscillations as in other brain structures remains controversial. Excitatory actions of GABA depend on three fundamental parameters: the resting membrane potential (Em), reversal potential of GABA (E(GABA)), and threshold of action potential generation (Vthr). We have shown r...

GABA neurotransmission requires a specialized set of proteins to synthesize, transport or respond to GABA. This article reviews results from a genetic strategy in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans designed to identify the genes responsible for these activities. These studies identified mutations in genes encoding five different proteins: the biosynthetic enzyme for GABA, the vesicular GABA tr...