GABA receptor mechanisms in the central nervous system

Kinetics of GABAB receptor-mediated inhibition of calcium currents and excitatory synaptic transmission in hippocampal neurons in vitro

The time courses of the gamma-aminobutyric acid type B (GABAB) receptor-mediated inhibition of excitatory synaptic transmission and of action potential-evoked calcium currents were studied in hippocampal neurons in vitro with step-like changes of a saturating baclofen concentration. Inhibition mediated by postsynaptic GABAB receptors was excluded pharmacologically. Both presynaptic inhibition and reduction of calcium currents developed and declined exponentially with similar time constants of about 0.2 and 3 s, respectively. The close correlation of the time courses indicates that fast, G protein-mediated depression of voltage-gated calcium channels and thus direct reduction of the presynaptic calcium influx may contribute to the GABAB receptor-induced inhibition of excitatory synaptic transmission in hippocampal neurons in vitro.

Functional diversity of GABA-activated Cl- currents in Purkinje versus granule neurons in rat cerebellar slices

In rat cerebellar slices, we compared whole-cell recordings of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) with Cl- currents resulting from pulses of GABA (1 mM, < 2 ms) to outside-out patches from Purkinje and granule neurons. sIPSCs in Purkinje cells decayed with a single fast exponential, as previously reported, whereas in granule cells sIPSC decay was best described by the sum of a fast and a slow exponential curve, with a variable contribution of the slow component to the peak current. GABA pulses to nucleated patches from granule cells elicited Cl- currents with decays similar to sIPSC decays, whereas in patches from Purkinje neurons GABA pulses produced Cl- currents decaying largely with a fast component, but often followed by a slower exponential. GABA concentration steps produced rapidly desensitizing currents in patches from both cerebellar neurons. In distinct cerebellar neurons, specific functional properties of GABAA receptors may relate to the presence of distinct receptor subtypes.

gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA): a fast excitatory transmitter which may regulate the development of hippocampal neurones in early postnatal life

The properties of neonatal GABAergic synapses were investigated in neurones of the hippocampal CA3 region. GABA, acting on GABAA receptors, provides most of the excitatory drive on immature CA3 pyramidal neurones at an early stage of development, whereas glutamatergic synapses (in particular, those mediated by AMPA receptors) are mostly quiescent. Thus, during the first postnatal week of life, bicuculline fully blocked spontaneous and evoked depolarising potentials, and GABAA receptor agonists depolarised CA3 pyramidal neurones. GABAA mediated currents also had a reduced sensitivity to benzodiazepines. In the presence of bicuculline, between P0 and P4, increasing the stimulus strength reveals an excitatory postsynaptic potential which is mostly mediated by NMDA receptors. During the same developmental period, pre- (but not post) synaptic GABAB inhibition is present. Intracellular injections of biocytin showed that the axonal network of the GABAergic interneurones is well developed at birth, whereas the pyramidal recurrent collaterals are only beginning to develop. Finally, chronic bicuculline treatment of hippocampal neurones in culture reduced the extent of neuritic arborisation, suggesting that GABA acts as a trophic factor in that period. In conclusion, it is suggested that during the first postnatal week of life, when excitatory inputs are still poorly developed, GABAA receptors provide the excitatory drive necessary for pyramidal cell outgrowth. Starting from the end of the first postnatal week of life, when excitatory inputs are well developed, GABA (acting on both GABAA and GABAB receptors) will hyperpolarise the CA3 pyramidal neurones and, as in the adult, will prevent excessive neuronal discharges. Our electrophysiological and morphological studies have shown that hippocampal GABAergic interneurones are in a unique position to modulate the development of CA3 pyramidal neurones. Developing neurones require a certain degree of membrane depolarisation, and a consequent rise in intracellular calcium, for stimulating neurite outgrowth; the GABAergic network, which develops prior to the glutamatergic one, appears to provide this depolarisation. Starting from the end of the first postnatal week of life, at a time when excitatory pathways are developing, GABA (acting on both GABAA and GABAB receptors) would reverse its action, and start to play its well-known role as an inhibitory neurotransmitter.

Ontogeny of GABAA receptor subunit mRNAs in rat spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia

Relatively little is known about the development of GABAA receptor subunits and their gene expression in mammalian spinal cord. The expression of mRNAs encoding 13 GABAA receptor subunits (alpha 1-6, beta 1-3, gamma 1-3, and delta) in embryonic, postnatal, and adult rat spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) cells were studied by in situ hybridization and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Both techniques revealed the presence of all subunit mRNAs originally found in the rat brain, except for alpha 6, which was not detectable, and delta, which was weakly detected only by RT-PCR. Two anatomically distinctive sets of subunit mRNAs were found by in situ hybridization within the ventricular zone (VZ) and mantle zone (MZ). The trio of alpha 4, beta 1, and gamma 1 subunit mRNAs emerged exclusively in neuroepithelial cells at embryonic day 13 (E13) and remained detectable in the VZ until E17. In the MZ, beta 3 subunit mRNA was first detected at E12, while alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 5, beta 2, gamma 2, and gamma 3 transcripts appeared at E13. Expressions of the subunit mRNAs in the MZ rapidly increased and expanded in a ventrodorsal sequence from motoneurons to dorsal horn neurons before reaching a peak in the late embryonic/early postnatal period. The mRNA expressions declined during postnatal development, by region-selective depletion, with alpha 4, alpha 5, beta 1, beta 2, gamma 1, and gamma 3 subunit mRNAs becoming barely detectable. In contrast, alpha 2, alpha 3, beta 3, and gamma 2 transcripts persisted into adulthood with distinct anatomical distributions. RT-PCR analysis revealed unique developmental patterns in the intensities of PCR products, most of which were in good agreement with developmental changes in the densities of hybridized mRNA signals. However, RT-PCR amplified minute amounts of mRNAs for alpha 1, alpha 4, alpha 5, beta 1, beta 2, gamma 1, gamma 3, and delta subunits in adults, which were not found in film autoradiograms, but could be detected in a few grain-positive cells in emulsion-dipped sections. DRG cells expressed alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 5, beta 2, beta 3, and gamma 2 subunit mRNAs during embryogenesis but only alpha 2, beta 3, and gamma 2 subunit mRNAs were reliably detected in the adult.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Heterogeneity in presynaptic regulation of GABA release from hippocampal inhibitory neurons

Release of GABA from the terminals of hippocampal inhibitory neurons is inhibited by activation of GABAB autoreceptors and mu opioid receptors. However, it is not known whether these presynaptic processes affect all inhibitory synapses equally. We examined the effects of the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen and the mu opioid receptor agonist DAGO on postsynaptic currents evoked by minimal stimulation of inhibitory fibers (meIPSCs) in area CA3. Baclofen reversibly depressed approximately half of the meIPSCs evoked in the stratum pyramidale. The remaining meIPSCs were unaffected despite a coincident depression of spontaneous IPSCs. In contrast, all meIPSCs were depressed by DAGO. In addition, minimal stimulation in the stratum radiatum evoked meIPSCs that were always depressed by baclofen. These results indicate that regulation of GABA release by GABAB autoreceptors occurs at a subset of inhibitory synapses and that GABAB-resistant inhibitory synapses are located on pyramidal neuron somata. Hippocampal inhibitory neurons may be heterogeneous with respect to presynaptic receptor-mediated regulation of GABA release.

Paradoxical GABAergic facilitation on seizure development observed from bicuculline-induced effects on visual cortical kindling at short interstimulus intervals in chronically prepared rabbits

To investigate the influence of GABAergic function on seizure development, the effects of bicuculline, a GABAa receptor antagonist, on visual cortical and hippocampal kindling were examined in chronically prepared rabbits. Kindling-inducing stimulations were repeated at 5-min intervals. The changes in afterdischarge (AD) durations were compared before and 30 min after a low (2 mg/kg) and high dose (5 mg/kg) i.p. injection of bicuculline solution. In the visual cortical kindling group, the AD durations were markedly shortened after the low dose bicuculline injection, while bicuculline produced a prolongation of the AD durations in the visual cortical with the high dose injection and hippocampal kindling groups. The low dose bicuculline-induced inhibition of visual cortical kindling suggests facilitative GABAergic action on seizure development, while the drug-induced enhancement in the other groups reflects the well-known inhibitory GABAergic action.

Receptor-receptor interactions as an integrative mechanism in nerve cells

Several lines of evidence indicate that interactions among transmission lines can take place at the level of the cell membrane via interactions among macromolecules, integral or associated to the cell membrane, involved in signal recognition and transduction. The present view will focus on this last subject, i.e., on the interactions between receptors for chemical signals at the level of the neuronal membrane (receptor-receptor interaction). By receptor-receptor interaction we mean that a neurotransmitter or modulator, by binding to its receptor, modifies the characteristics of the receptor for another transmitter or modulator. Four types of interactions among transmission lines may be considered, but mainly intramembrane receptor-receptor interactions have been dealt with in this article, exemplified by the heteroregulation of D2 receptors via neuropeptide receptors and A2 receptors. The role of receptor-receptor interactions in the integration of signals is discussed, especially in terms of filtration of incoming signals, of integration of coincident signals, and of neuronal plasticity.

Functional heterogeneity of hippocampal GABAA receptors

gamma-Aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors were studied in cultured neurons taken from rat hippocampus at early postnatal stages. GABA-induced whole-cell currents showed a broad range of peak amplitudes and time-courses of desensitization. Dose-response curves of rapidly and slowly desensitizing cells revealed EC50 values of 8.5 and 37.3 microM GABA, respectively, with the Hill coefficient being greater than unity. The main-state conductance of GABAA receptor channels was 28-31 pS in all cells. GABA responses of low-affinity cells were more strongly affected by benzodiazepine receptor agonists (e.g. flunitrazepam, clonazepam) and inverse agonists (e.g. methyl-6,7-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-beta-carboline-3-carboxylate), as compared to cells exhibiting high-affinity GABA responses. Currents were also potentiated by zolpidem, but were little affected by Ro 15-4513 and Zn2+. These data suggest the presence of physiologically and pharmacologically distinct GABAA receptor isoforms in neurons of the early postnatal hippocampus, which may subserve different inhibitory control mechanisms in this brain region.

Hyperpolarizing synaptic potentials evoked in CA1 pyramidal cells by glutamate stimulation of interneurons from the oriens/alveus border of rat hippocampal slices. II. Sensitivity to GABA antagonists

The receptor type mediating the inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (glut-IPSPs), recorded in CA1 pyramidal cells, as a result of glutamate stimulation of interneurons in stratum oriens near the alveus (O/A) was assessed and compared to the type mediating recurrent IPSPs evoked by recurrent activation of interneurons through glutamate stimulation of pyramidal cells in stratum pyramidale (PYR). In response to repetitive electrical stimulation, the peak amplitude of both the O/A glut-IPSP and the PYR glut-IPSP was attenuated (n = 5) in parallel to the reduction in amplitude of the early and late components of the electrically evoked response (stimulus-evoked disinhibition). This suggested the involvement of GABAergic receptors and attested that the interneurons activated during glut-IPSPs were also involved in the circuitry of the electrically evoked IPSPs. The local application of the selective GABAA antagonist bicuculline (100-200 microM) to the slice resulted in a significant reduction in the amplitude of both the O/A (by 76.5%; n = 9) and PYR (by 86.2%; n = 5) glut-IPSPs, in parallel to a decrease of the electrically evoked early IPSP, but not of the late IPSP. The presence of the GABAB antagonist 2-hydroxy-saclofen (1 mM) was able to significantly reduce the amplitude of the O/A glut-IPSPs (by 27.5%; n = 7) and of the electrically evoked late IPSP, but not the PYR glut-IPSP (n = 3). Although the application of phaclofen (20 mM) to the slice reduced the amplitude of the O/A glut-IPSPs (n = 3), the reduction was not statistically significant. These results suggest that recurrent IPSPs elicited from activation of interneurons by stimulation of pyramidal cells are mediated solely via GABAA receptors. Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials elicited from stimulation of interneurons in O/A were also mediated mostly by GABAA receptors, but in addition, displayed a minor component mediated by GABAB receptors. Therefore, since a large proportion of interneurons in O/A are recurrently excited by pyramidal cells (Lacaille J-C et al., 1987, J Neurosci 7: 1979-1993), and since recurrent IPSPs appeared mediated by GABAA receptors, a subpopulation of interneurons activated from O/A might exist that do not receive recurrent excitation but can inhibit pyramidal cells via GABAB receptors.

Hyperpolarizing synaptic potentials evoked in CA1 pyramidal cells by glutamate stimulation of interneurons from the oriens/alveus border of rat hippocampal slices. I. Electrophysiological response properties

To examine the inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) elicited in pyramidal cells by interneurons situated at the stratum oriens/alveus border (O/A), glutamate was applied by micropressure to this area during intracellular recordings from CA1 pyramidal cells. Glutamate stimulation evoked IPSPs (glut-IPSPs) of small amplitude (4 mV), delayed peak latency (100-110 ms), and long duration (300-400 ms). Recurrent activation of interneurons via glutamate stimulation of pyramidal cells by local application in stratum pyramidale (PYR) evoked recurrent IPSPs (PYR glut-IPSPs) with similar amplitude and time course as O/A glut-IPSPs. The mean equilibrium potential of O/A glut-IPSPs (-77 mV) was significantly different from that of the PYR glut-IPSPs (-71 mV), however, neither equilibrium potential was significantly different from that of the electrically evoked early IPSP in the same cells. Glutamate-evoked IPSPs elicited from O/A displayed some response reversal (27% reversal) like those evoked from PYR (41% reversal). The early IPSP evoked by electrical stimulation displayed significantly more response reversal (67% reversal) than glut-IPSPs. Both types of glut-IPSPs (O/A and PYR) were associated with moderate increases in membrane conductance (5.9 and 6.6 nS, respectively), which were significantly less than the conductance change associated with the early IPSP (45.8 nS). In interneurons within PYR, glutamate stimulation in PYR readily elicited a flurry of excitatory postsynaptic potentials, whereas glutamate stimulation in O/A elicited IPSPs. The electrophysiological properties of IPSPs elicited in pyramidal cells by glutamate stimulation of interneurons in O/A were similar to those of recurrent IPSPs evoked from PYR. Given that both of these types of glutamate-evoked IPSPs were mostly mediated via GABAA receptor channels (Samulack DD, Lacaille J-C, 1993, Hippocampus 3:345-358), the small differences observed between equilibrium potentials, response reversals, and conductance changes could be due to a more electronically distant location from the soma of the synapses involved in O/A glut-IPSPs as compared to those of recurrent IPSPs elicited from PYR.

Cl- channels are randomly activated by continuous GABA secretion in cultured embryonic rat hippocampal neurons

Throughout the adult vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) mediates transient Cl- conductances commonly identified as fast, Cl(-)-dependent inhibitory synaptic signals [Prog. Neurobiol., 36 (1991) 35-92]. In the rat hippocampus Cl(-)-dependent excitatory transients mediated by GABA emerge during the first postnatal week superimposed on a steady-state baseline that is also Cl(-)- and GABA-dependent [Int. J. Dev. Neurosci., 8 (1990) 481-490]. Here we report that many embryonic rat hippocampal neurons cultured for hours to days exhibit random fluctuations in Cl- channel activity that are mediated by continuous secretion of GABA in the absence of transients. Thus, GABA is broadcast tonically before it is released transiently.

GABA induces Ca2+ transients in astrocytes

By using the Ca(2+)-sensitive indictor Fura-2/AM, the cytosolic Ca2+ levels [Ca2+]i were measured in type 1 astrocytes in rat cortical astroglial primary cultures, after stimulation with GABA, muscimol (GABAA agonist), or baclofen (GABAB agonist). We report the first evidence that stimulation of both GABAA and GABAB receptors evokes Ca2+ transients in type I astrocytes. Two types of Ca2+ responses were seen: the single-phase curve, which was the most common, and the biphasic, which consisted of an initial rise that persisted at the maximal or submaximal level. Both types of Ca2+ responses appeared with some latency. The responses were obtained in astrocytes grown for 12-16 days in culture and the response frequencies for all three agonists were 18% of the total number of examined cells. However, when the astrocytes were grown in a mixed astroglial/neuronal culture the response frequencies for all three agonists increased to 35% of the total number of examined cells. In some cells, the responses after GABA stimulation were blocked to baseline levels after exposure to bicuculline (GABAA antagonist). In other cells, bicuculline only slightly reduced the GABA-evoked responses, and the addition of phaclofen (GABAB antagonist) did not potentiate this partial inhibition. However, the muscimol-evoked rises in [Ca2+]i were completely inhibited after exposure to bicuculline, while the responses after baclofen could only be partly blocked by phaclofen. GABA evoked rises in [Ca2+]i which alternatively were inhibited (mostly) or persisted in Ca(2+)-free buffer. The rises in [Ca2+]i persisted, but were reduced, in Ca(2+)-free buffer after stimulation with muscimol, but were inhibited after baclofen stimulation. The GABA uptake blockers guvacine, 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo(4,5-c)pyridin-3-ol and nipecotic acid were also able to reduce the GABA-evoked rises in [Ca2+]i. However, the L-type Ca2+ channel antagonist nifedipine failed to influence on the GABA-evoked Ca2+ transients. The results suggest that type 1 astrocytes in primary culture express GABA receptors which can elevate [Ca2+]i directly or indirectly via Ca2+ channels and/or via release from internal Ca2+ stores. The results also suggest that GABA can have intracellular Ca(2+)-mobilizing sites since the GABA-evoked responses were reduced after incubation with GABA uptake blockers.

Extracellular H+ iontophoresis modifies responses to gamma-aminobutyric acid and cyanide of reticulospinal vasomotor neurons in rats

Responses of reticulospinal vasomotor neurons, recorded in the rostral ventrolateral reticular nucleus of the medulla oblongata, to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and cyanide microiontophoreses were examined during H+ iontophoresis in anesthetized rats. Extracellular H+ iontophoresis attenuated GABA-evoked decreases and enhanced cyanide-induced increases in the neuronal activity, but had no effect on the neuronal activity when applied alone. Opposite responses were produced during OH- iontophoresis. Similar effects were also observed on the glycine-evoked inhibition of these neurons during H+ and OH- iontophoreses, suggesting that H+ modulation of the GABA-evoked inhibition may not result from a specific action at the GABA receptor-channel complex. It is concluded that extracellular H+ ions exert a modulatory action on responses of the reticulospinal vasomotor neurons to other neuro-active substances and may significantly contribute to hypoxic-ischemic cardiovascular regulation.

CGP 55845A blocks baclofen, gamma-aminobutyric acid and inhibitory postsynaptic potassium currents in guinea pig CA3 neurons

Single electrode voltage-clamp recording from CA3 neurons in guinea pig hippocampal slices was applied to study effects of a new GABAB antagonist, CGP 55845A, on (-)baclofen (IBac)- or gamma-aminobutyric acid (IGABA)-induced potassium (K)-currents and on inhibitory postsynaptic K-currents (K-IPSCs) recorded in the presence of blockers for fast synaptic transmission. K-IPSCs were induced by bath application of 4-amino-pyridine (4-AP). CGP 55845A, in 10(-8) to 10(-7) M concentrations, blocked all these K-currents and was more potent than all GABAB antagonists known to date. However, onset of the CGP 55845A effect and recovery were slow. We conclude that a potent and selective GABAB antagonist is now available to study the physiological role of GABAB receptors in the mammalian brain.

Pre- and postsynaptic GABAB receptors of rat neocortical neurons differ in their pharmacological properties

GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid)B receptors have been proposed to play a dual role in synaptic transmission in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS): they participate in a late inhibitory postsynaptic potential (1-IPSP) and reduce the release of GABA by a presynaptic action. To further characterize these mechanisms, two established GABAB receptor antagonists were applied to intracellularly recorded rat neocortical neurons in vitro. The depression of the 1-IPSP by the GABAB receptor antagonists phaclofen and 2-OH-saclofen averaged 30% and 50%, respectively. Phaclofen had no effect on direct excitability or excitatory synaptic transmission. The depression of a second IPSP evoked by paired-pulse stimulation was used as an index for presynaptic GABAB receptor activation. Neither antagonist exerted significant effects on this transient depression of GABAergic inhibition. The present results suggest that the pre- and postsynaptic GABAB receptors involved in GABAergic transmission of neocortical neurons differ in their pharmacological properties.

Quantitative analysis of transient GABA expression in embryonic and early postnatal rat spinal cord neurons

GABA expression was investigated using biochemical analysis of spinal cord homogenates and immunocytochemical analysis of cells acutely dissociated from the embryonic and postnatal rat spinal cord. gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) was detected by both methods as early as embryonic day 13 (E13). At E13, the percentage of neurons that were GABA+ was 0.5%. This value increased during embryogenesis, peaked during the first two postnatal weeks to just over 50%, and declined to approximately 20% by the third postnatal week emphasizing the transient nature of GABA expression. At E17 there was a pronounced, positive ventro-dorsal and rostro-caudal gradient of GABA+ cells that persisted until just before birth. At this time the gradients reversed in cervical and lumbosacral regions indicating that GABA immunoreactivity in discrete anatomical regions is also a transient phenomenon. During the embryonic period GABA immunoreactivity was diffusely distributed throughout cell bodies and proximal processes. At E21, both GABA and synaptophysin were present in the same cells. However the two antigens did not co-localize point for point. By postnatal day 21 GABA immunoreactivity appeared in puncta that co-localized entirely with puncta of synaptophysin immunoreactivity. The sizable percentage of neurons that transiently express GABA during development, and the fact that it can be detected prior to the synaptic form of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65), suggest that the amino acid may play a significant role during differentiation before it functions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter.

Involvement of GABAA receptors in the outgrowth of cultured hippocampal neurons

Whereas GABA is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the adult central nervous system, recent experiments performed in our laboratory have shown that the activation of GABAA receptors in the hippocampus leads to excitatory effects during the early post-natal period. The possible consequence of a depolarizing effect of GABA was assessed on the neuritic outgrowth of embryonic hippocampal neurons in culture. No morphological alterations were observed when hippocampal neurons were cultured for three days in the presence of muscimol, a GABAA receptor agonist. In contrast, the neuritic outgrowth of cultured hippocampal neurons was profoundly affected by the presence of bicuculline in the culture medium. In the presence of this GABAA receptor antagonist neurons displayed a reduction in the number of primary neurites and branching points, resulting in a concomitant decrease of the total neuritic length. Thus, this study suggests that GABA, acting on GABAA subtype of receptors, is able to affect the development of the hippocampus.

Reversal of scopolamine-induced amnesia by the GABAB receptor antagonist CGP 35348 in the mouse

We studied the effects of CGP 35348, a centrally active blocker of GABAB receptors, on scopolamine-induced amnesia for a passive avoidance response in the mouse. Both pre-training or post-training intraperitoneal administration of the GABAB antagonist (75, 150 and 300 mg/kg i.p.) significantly reduces the amnesic effect of scopolamine (1.0 mg/kg i.p.). Our results are in agreement with previous observations indicating a role for the GABAB receptors in the modulation of memory function, and suggest a possible role of GABAB receptor antagonists as nootropic drugs.

Effects of GABAB receptor agonists and antagonists on the bulbar respiratory network in cat

We examined the involvement of the GABAB receptor in central respiratory mechanisms. Respiratory neurons (RNs) from the ventral respiratory group in the medulla of the cat were subjected to iontophoretic applications of the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen and the antagonists saclofen and CGP 35348. In all types of RNs baclofen decreased the firing rate. This reduction was antagonized by CGP 35348. Application of either antagonist increased the spontaneous discharge in both inspiratory and expiratory RNs. CGP 35348 excited 57% of the neurons tested, on the average by 34% with ejection currents of 100 nA. Saclofen excited 6 of 9 neurons tested. Baclofen administered systemically (8-12 mg/kg i.v.) to either anesthetized, decerebrate or intact freely moving cats, induced a selective lengthening of the inspiratory phase, an effect comparable to the apneusis induced by the NMDA antagonist MK-801. Baclofen also produced either a pronounced decrease in the amplitude of phrenic nerve discharge or an apnea, both of which were reversed by increasing paCO2. The results suggest that endogenously released GABA acting on GABAB receptors may be involved in the control of respiratory neuronal discharge.

Physiological evidence for two distinct GABAA responses in rat hippocampus

The gamma-aminobutyric acid(A) (GABAA) receptor is a ligand-gated ionophore involved in synaptic inhibition. Biochemical and molecular biological studies indicate that considerable receptor heterogeneity exists, but physiological differences between inhibitory GABAA synaptic responses have not been identified in the brain. The present report describes two anatomically segregated GABAA-mediated synaptic currents in the hippocampal CA1 region that have distinct physiological, pharmacological, and functional properties. GABAA,fast enters at or near the cell body, decays rapidly (3-8 ms), is blocked by furosemide, and rapidly curtails the excitatory response. GABAA,slow enters far from the cell body, decays slowly (30-70 ms), is not blocked by furosemide, and underlies the conventionally recognized early inhibitory postsynaptic potential. The receptors producing these responses may represent subtypes of the GABAA receptor.

Pharmacology of GABA receptor Cl- channels in rat retinal bipolar cells

gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian nervous system, is known to operate bicuculline-sensitive Cl- channels through GABAA receptors and bicuculline-insensitive cation channels through GABAB receptors. Recent observations indicate that the retina may contain GABA receptors with unusual pharmacological properties. Here we report that GABA gates bicuculline-insensitive Cl- channels in rod bipolar cells of the rat retina, which were not modulated by flunitrazepam, pentobarbital and alphaxalone and were only slightly blocked by picrotoxinin. Moreover, the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen, and the antagonist 2-hydroxysaclofen had no effect. The underlying single-channel conductance was 7 pS and the open time 150 ms. These values are clearly different from those obtained for GABAA receptor channels recorded in other neurons of the same preparation, and in other parts of the brain. The bicuculline- and baclofen-insensitive GABA receptors were activated selectively by the GABA analogue cis-4-aminocrotonic acid (CACA). Hence they may be similar to those receptors termed GABAC receptors.

Novel GABA responses from rod-driven retinal horizontal cells

gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Two classes of GABA receptors (GABAA and GABAB) have been identified. GABAA receptors are ligand-gated chloride channels that are competitively antagonized by bicuculline, noncompetitively blocked by picrotoxin, and often allosterically modulated by barbiturates and benzodiazepines. GABAB receptors regulate potassium and calcium channels through G-protein and intracellular second-messenger pathways, are selectively activated by baclofen, and are antagonized by phaclofen and 2-hydroxysaclofen. For some years, evidence has accumulated that there are GABA receptors, especially prominent along visual pathways, which are neither antagonized by bicuculline nor activated by baclofen, but are activated by certain conformationally restricted analogues of GABA, including cis-4-aminocrotonic acid (CACA). These receptors have been designated GABAC receptors. As yet, membrane current responses from isolated neurons that reflect this novel pharmacology have not been reported, although such responses have been recorded from oocytes injected with retinal messenger RNA. Here we describe a chloride-mediated current response from isolated rod-driven horizontal cells (H4) of the white perch retina that has this novel pharmacology.

Effects of the benzothiadiazine TAG on channel activation at mammalian glycine receptors

The effects of the benzothiadiazine TAG on membrane channels activated by taurine and glycine were investigated in dissociated spinal cord neurons from embryonic mice. TAG (100-200 microM) dose-dependently and reversibly antagonized the ability of glycine and taurine to activate chloride permeable ionic channels in these patches. This effect of TAG was due to shortening of the mean open time of the glycine and taurine activated channels. In addition, TAG significantly increased the mean shut time of taurine activated channels. The mean amplitude single channel currents activated by either agonist was unaltered by TAG. Single channel currents activated by taurine were significantly more sensitive to the blocking action of TAG than currents activated by glycine.

GABA responses and their partial occlusion by glycine in cultured rat medullary neurons

Whole-cell current responses to bath application of GABA and glycine were studied in medullary neurons cultured from embryonic rats. Two current components were seen in the responses to bath application of GABA, one component which desensitized and another which did not. These two current components have different dose-response characteristics for GABA, with the nondesensitizing component being activated more effectively and reaching its peak amplitude at lower agonist concentrations than the desensitizing one. The agonist concentrations producing half of the maximum responses are 2.8 +/- 0.3 (+/- S.E.M., n = 9) and 14.7 +/- 2.7 (n = 5) microM for the nondesensitizing and desensitizing components, respectively. The two current components for GABA are differentially affected by the antagonists, picrotoxin and bicuculline. The antagonist concentrations which block 50% of the control desensitizing and nondesensitizing responses to GABA are 33 and 320 microM for picrotoxin, and 3 and 50 microM for bicuculline, respectively. Thus, the characteristics of the GABA responses are analogous to those described previously for glycine in that there are two components which are differentially sensitive to agonist concentration [Lewis et al. (1991) J. Neurophysiol, 40, 1178-1187]. We now find there is occlusion between the responses to GABA and glycine, indicating that they share a population of receptors or channels. The occlusion was incomplete (< 80%) in half of the cells, suggesting that both agonists also activate unique receptors. Furthermore, the current responses to 35 microM GABA are blocked by the glycinergic antagonist, strychnine, with half-maximal blocking concentrations equal to 2 and 30 microM for the desensitizing and nondesensitizing components, respectively. This strychnine sensitivity is less than that for the glycine receptor. At the same time, the current responses to 100 microM glycine are sensitive to the GABAergic antagonists, picrotoxin and bicuculline. The half-maximal blocking concentrations are 36 and 120 microM picrotoxin, and 120 and 500 microM bicuculline, for the desensitizing and nondesensitizing components of the glycine response, respectively. Consequently, these results suggest that these cultured cells have at least three types of inhibitory receptors: glycine receptors, GABA receptors and GABA/glycine receptors, with all three receptors sensitive to block by strychnine, bicuculline and picrotoxin. The GABA/glycine receptor may be an immature form of the inhibitory receptor. Alternatively, some GABA and glycine receptors may have common ionophores.

Currents activated by GABA and their modulation by Zn2+ in cerebellar granule cells in culture

Whole-cell and single-channel currents evoked by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were recorded from rat cerebellar granule cells in culture. The electrophysiological properties of these currents were studied in control condition and in the presence of external Zn2+ (10-30 microM). GABA (10 microM) induced bicuculline-sensitive whole-cell currents which desensitized. The desensitization was more rapid for higher concentrations of GABA (30-300 microM). The current-voltage relation of GABA currents was linear from -70 to +50 mV. Two different types of cells were found with respect to the stoichiometry for agonist binding, one with Hill coefficient 1.5 and another one with coefficient 1. The half-maximum concentration displayed more variability, with values varying from 10 to 50 microM. The time constant of recovery from desensitization (tau r) was estimated to be 36 s. Zn2+ (30 microM) blocked GABA-activated whole-cell currents in a non-competitive and voltage-independent way without a significant change in the current kinetics. In excised outside-out patches, GABA (0.5 microM) activated single-channel events of 19 and 31 pS. Kinetic analysis yielded two mean shut times (tau c1 = 2.70 ms, tau c2 = 205 ms) and one mean open time (tau o = 3.64 ms). Zn2+ (10 microM) did not affect single-channel conductances and mean open and shut times, but significantly reduced the probability of opening from 0.17 to 0.06. It is probable that Zn2+ binds to a site located on the extracellular part of the GABAA receptor channel complex.

Long-term transformation of an inhibitory into an excitatory GABAergic synaptic response

For a constant membrane potential, a predominantly inhibitory GABAergic synaptic response is shown to undergo long-term transformation into an excitatory response after pairing of exogenous gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) with postsynaptic depolarization or pairing of pre- and postsynaptic stimulation. Current- and voltage-clamp experiments suggest that this synaptic transformation is due to a shift from a net increase of conductance to a net decrease of conductance in response to GABA. GABA-induced elevation of intracellular calcium is prolonged after the same stimulus pairing and may, therefore, contribute to this synaptic transformation via Ca(2+)-activated phosphorylation pathways. This synaptic transformation, which does not follow unpaired stimulus presentations, occurs in a neuronal compartment spatially separated from the soma, which also changes during stimulus pairing.

Differential subcellular distribution of the alpha 6 subunit versus the alpha 1 and beta 2/3 subunits of the GABAA/benzodiazepine receptor complex in granule cells of the cerebellar cortex

The distribution of the alpha 6 subunit of the GABAA receptor has been established in rat cerebellum and compared to the distribution of the alpha 1 (cat) and the beta 2/3 (rat, cat) subunits, using immunocytochemistry. The synapses established by Golgi cell terminals on the dendrites of granule cells were immunoreactive for the alpha 6, alpha 1 and beta 2/3 subunits in virtually all glomeruli, indicating that two variants (alpha 1 and alpha 6) of the same subunit are co-localized at the same synapses. The somatic membranes of the granule cells, which receive no synapses, were immunopositive for the alpha 1 and beta 2/3 subunits, but not for the alpha 6 subunit. Thus, the alpha 1 and the beta 2/3 subunits are located at both synaptic and extrasynaptic sites, but the alpha 6 subunit is detectable only at synaptic sites.

Comparison of the effect of the GABA uptake blockers, tiagabine and nipecotic acid, on inhibitory synaptic efficacy in hippocampal CA1 neurones

The action of the novel gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) uptake blocker, tiagabine, has been studied on isolated GABAergic fast inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSP) and currents (IPSC) in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells in the slice preparation. Tiagabine (20-50 microM) had little effect on the peak amplitude of the IPSC, but caused a robust increase in the half-width (by 109 +/- 15%). These results contrasted with those obtained using the established uptake blocker, nipecotic acid (100 microM to 1 mM), which reduced the amplitude of the IPSC by 35 +/- 6% and caused only a modest prolongation of the recovery phase. These effects, which were poorly reversible, are probably explained by the fact that nipecotic acid is a substrate for the GABA-uptake carrier and can act as a false transmitter. Tiagabine is not transported by the GABA carrier and results with this substance demonstrate the role of uptake in determining the kinetics of activation of GABAA receptors. Tiagabine is proposed as the blocker of choice for the GABA uptake system.

Transient expression of GABA immunoreactivity in the developing rat spinal cord

The development of GABAergic neurons in the spinal cord of the rat has been investigated by immunocytochemical staining of frozen sections with anti-gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) antiserum. In the cervical cord, GABA-immunoreactive fibers first appeared at embryonic day (E) 13 in the presumptive white matter within the ventral commissure, ventral funiculus, and dorsal root entrance zone, and in the ventral roots. There were no GABA-immunoreactive cell bodies detected at this age. By E14, motoneurons, the earliest generated spinal cells, were the first cell population to become GABA-immunoreactive at the cell body level. Thereafter, GABA-immunoreactive neurons increased progressively in number and extended from ventral to dorsal regions. GABA-immunoreactive relay neurons within lamina I of the dorsal horn were initially detected at E17. Interneurons in the substantia gelatinosa, the latest generated cells in the spinal cord, were also the last to express the GABA immunoreactivity at E18. Immunoreactive neurons peaked in intensity and extent at E18 and 19. GABA immunoreactivity was only detectable in neurons within the intermediate and marginal zones 1-3 days after they withdrew from the cell cycle. This contrasts to glutamate decarboxylase immunoreactivity, which is detected in precursor cells in the ventricular zone prior to, or during, withdrawal from the cell cycle. Toward the end of gestation, GABA immunoreactivity declined in intensity and extent. This regression began in the ventral horn of the cervical region and ended in the dorsal horn of the lumbosacral region. During the first week after birth, immunoreactivity in motoneurons and in many other neurons within the ventral horn, intermediate gray, and deeper layers of the dorsal horn disappeared, and only in those neurons predominantly within the superficial layers of the dorsal horn did it persist into adulthood. Thus, the expression and regression of GABA immunoreactivity in the spinal cord followed ventral-to-dorsal, rostral-to-caudal, and medial-to-lateral gradients. These observations indicate that the majority of embryonic spinal neurons pass through a stage of transient expression of GABA immunoreactivity. The functional significance of this transient expression is unknown, but it coincides with the period of intense neurite growth of motoneurons, sensory neurons, and interneurons, and of neuromuscular junction formation, suggesting that the transient presence of GABA may play an important role in the differentiation of sensorimotor neuronal circuits.

Inactivation characteristics of a sustained, Ca(2+)-independent K+ current of rat hippocampal neurones in vitro

1. Current or voltage clamp recordings from CA3 neurones of the adult rat hippocampal slice were performed to study the inactivation properties of a slow outward K+ current identified as the delayed rectifier (IK). 2. In current clamp experiments, burst firing evoked from resting membrane potential by intracellular current injection was reduced or blocked by conditioning hyperpolarizing pre-pulses of 20-40 mV amplitude. This effect was inhibited by tetraethylammonium (TEA; 20 mM) but was unaffected by Cs+ (3 mM), 4-aminopyridine (4-AP; 2 mM), carbachol (30-50 microM), mast cell degranulating peptide (MCDP; 300 nM), thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH; 1 microM) or by a Ca(2+)-free solution containing Mn2+ or Co2+ (2 mM). 3. Single-electrode voltage clamp experiments were carried out on neurones superfused with Ca(2+)-free solution, containing tetrodotoxin (TTX; 1 microM), Mn2+ or Co2+ (2 mM), 4-AP (2 mM), Cs+ (3 mM) and carbachol (30 microM). Step depolarizations from a holding potential of -55 mV activated an outward current which reached a plateau after 200 ms, followed by an outward tail current. Such an outward current had the characteristics of IK. 4. The outward currents were significantly potentiated by conditioning hyperpolarizing pre-pulses suggesting the IK was reduced by a voltage-dependent inactivation process. Removal of inactivation was a function of the amplitude of the conditioning hyperpolarizing pre-pulse. At a holding potential of -55 mV removal of inactivation was time dependent with a time constant of 211 ms. High K+ (12.5 or 21.5 mM) solutions did not affect the inactivation characteristics of IK. 5. Tetraethylammonium (20 mM) or low concentrations of Ba2+ (0.1 mM) readily depressed the outward current without significantly affecting the inactivation process. Dendrotoxin (200 nM) also depressed such a slow current but, in addition, increased the inactivation process of IK. 6. It is suggested that removal of inactivation of IK by hyperpolarization can modulate cell excitability by fully restoring the ability of IK to inhibit burst firing of CA3 hippocampal neurones.

An intracellular study of the effects of GABA on frog tectal neurones in vitro

The effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on neurones of the amphibian optic tectum were studied with current- and voltage-clamp recording from an isolated preparation of the midbrain of the frog Rana temporaria. Bath-applied GABA (1 mM) enhanced depolarizing synaptic potentials evoked in layer 6 tectal neurones by orthodromic stimulation of the optic tract. GABA also facilitated Na(+)- and Ca(2+)-dependent action potentials elicited by intracellular injection of depolarizing current. These actions of GABA were associated with comparatively small changes in membrane potential and their reversal potential was dependent on the Cl- equilibrium potential. Changes in input resistance observed during application of GABA were small and in part accountable for by the rectifying properties of the cell membrane. Tetrodotoxin (TTX; 1 microM) did not block the action of GABA on these neurones. These results show that externally applied GABA was able to raise directly the intrinsic excitability of frog tectal neurones and to enhance excitatory synaptic transmission elicited by stimulation of optic nerve fibres.

Regional variation of excitatory and inhibitory amino acid-induced responses in rat dissociated CNS neurons

Regional differences in glutamate (Glu), aspartate (Asp), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine (Gly) responses in CNS neurons were investigated by means of the whole-cell mode of the patch-clamp technique. The neurons were freshly dissociated from rat cortex, limbic system (hippocampal CA1 region), diencephalon (ventromedial hypothalamus), medulla (nucleus paragigantocellularis lateralis) and spinal cord (spinal dorsal horn). The current amplitudes induced by Glu and GABA did not show any regional differences whereas those of Asp- and Gly-induced responses were significantly different among CNS regions. The enhancement of Asp response by Gly was observed in all regions, and the facilitatory ratio did not differ among these regions. Even though the NMDA response in cortical neurons was significantly greater than that in spinal neurons, the ratios of NMDA response facilitation by Gly were also the same in both regions. When the current amplitudes induced by individual amino acids were estimated for the unit surface area of respective neurons (current density), the Glu, Asp and Gly responses showed regional heterogeneity whereas the GABA response did not.

Effect of a benzodiazepine (chlordiazepoxide) on a GABAA receptor from rat brain. Requirement of only one bound GABA molecule for channel opening

Chlordiazepoxide (CDPX) enhanced the rate of chloride exchange mediated by the major GABAA receptor found on sealed native membrane vesicles from rat cerebral cortex. The initial rate constant for chloride exchange for this receptor, (JA), a measure of open channel, was determined from the progress of GABA-mediated influx of 36Cl-. The dependence of JA on GABA concentration was hyperbolic in the presence of CDPX (150 microM, sufficient to give maximum enhancement of chloride exchange rate) but sigmoid in its absence. Enhancement of channel opening (10-fold at 0.3 microM GABA) decreased with increasing GABA concentration. The maximal response, above 1,000 microM GABA, was unaltered. The half-response concentration was reduced from 80 microM to 50 microM. CDPX alone caused no measurable 36Cl- exchange. In the presence of CDPX, channel opening occurred with only one bound GABA molecule, whereas in its absence, channel opening with two bound GABA molecules was much more favorable. This could not be direct allosteric modulation of the channel opening conformational change by binding of CDPX at effector sites, but could be explained by an additional change of the receptor on binding CDPX to give a closed state which gave channel opening mediated by a single GABA binding site. Another possibility is that CDPX could act at one of the channel opening binding sites without a postulated, second closed conformational state.

Release of endogenous amino acids, including homocysteic acid and cysteine sulphinic acid, from rat hippocampal slices evoked by electrical stimulation of Schaffer collateral-commissural fibres

This study examined the release of endogenous amino acids from acute hippocampal slices, upon stimulation of the Schaffer collateral-commissural fibres. One-minute samples of superfusate were collected via a cannula placed over the CA1 stratum radiatum, and were analysed by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Evoked potentials were recorded to ascertain stimulation efficacy. Four minutes of continuous 50 Hz stimulation produced a tetrodotoxin-sensitive release of aspartate and glycine in the second minute of stimulation, as well as a tetrodotoxin-sensitive release of cysteine sulphinic acid, during stimulation and of homocysteic acid, following stimulation. Such 50 Hz stimulation also produced a tetrodotoxin-insensitive decrease in methionine levels, but no significant changes in any of the other 15 amino acids measured. Four minutes of continuous 1 Hz stimulation produced no changes in the levels of any of the amino acids measured, but four 600-ms trains of 100 Hz stimulation, which, unlike the 1 Hz stimulation, produced long-term potentiation, resulted in significant increases in levels of cysteine sulphinic acid and homocysteic acid, but not of any of the other amino acids measured. These results suggest that aspartate, glycine, homocysteic acid, and cysteine sulphinic acid play a role in synaptic transmission in the Schaffer collateral-commissural fibres, and that cysteine sulphinic acid and homocysteic acid may be released specifically by high-frequency stimulation.

Development of GABAergic connections in vitro: increasing efficacy of synaptic transmission is not accompanied by changes in miniature currents

Development of inhibitory synaptic transmission was studied using a dissociated cell culture from the superior colliculus of neonatal rat. Patch-clamp recordings in the whole-cell configuration were performed to measure evoked (single-cell-activated) inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs), miniature IPSCs and current responses to maximal concentrations of exogenous gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Over a period of 3 weeks in vitro (DIV3-24), the fraction of synaptically coupled neurons raised from 0% to 76%. Evoked IPSCs were first observed at DIV5. They had an average amplitude of 33.9 pA during the first week (n = 13) and 129.7 pA during the fourth week (n = 48). This increase by a factor of 3.8 represents a significant rise in the efficacy of GABAergic transmission during in vitro development. However, no developmental change has been observed in the average amplitudes of miniature somatic IPSCs. The latter remained at an average level of about 9 pA (symmetrical chloride concentration and a driving force of 68 mV). No increase was found also in whole-cell current densities induced by saturating concentrations of exogenous GABA. Our results suggest that under the given conditions, synapse maturation was primarily the result of presynaptic sprouting. This conclusion is further supported by bouton counts in immunostained collicular cultures, where the number of axosomatic and axodendritic GABAergic contacts per neuron increased from 0.54 and 0.37, respectively, at DIV3, to 13.84 and greater than 23.1, at DIV24. The overall density of GABAergic neurons decreased during this period from about 41,000/cm2 to 15,600 cm2, indicating that a growing number of contacts is formed by a declining number of presynaptic neurons.

Effect of free fatty acids on GABAA receptor ligand binding

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) treatment of synaptosomal membranes, which causes the release of fatty acids, particularly unsaturated fatty acids, inhibits the flux of chloride ions through the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) benzodiazepine receptor ion channel in response to activation by agonists. PLA2 treatment has also been shown to affect ligand binding to the receptor. In the present study, we have investigated the effect of unsaturated free fatty acids, arachidonic acid and oleic acid and saturated free fatty acids, arachidic acid and stearic acid on various characteristics of GABAA receptor ligand binding. Only the unsaturated fatty acids showed any effect: arachidonic acid and oleic acid enhanced flunitrazepam binding and muscimol binding but inhibited tert-butylbicyclophosphorothionate (TBPS) binding in a dose-dependent manner. The effects on muscimol and TBPS binding were shown to be due to changes in receptor density by saturation analysis. Oleic acid and arachidonic acid also decreased the enhancement of flunitrazepam and muscimol binding by cartazolate and pentobarbital but did not affect GABA enhancement of flunitrazepam binding. These data indicate that unsaturated free fatty acids can mimic the effects of PLA2 treatment and underline the importance of the lipid microenvironment on ligand binding to the GABAA receptor.

GABAB receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic potentials evoked by electrical stimulation and by glutamate stimulation of interneurons inStratum lacunosum-moleculare in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells in vitro

Following micropressure application of glutamate (500 microM) in stratum lacunosum-moleculare (L-M), inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (glut-IPSPs) were recorded in CA1 pyramidal cells. These glut-IPSPs were blocked by tetrodotoxin (1 microM) and, thus, were probably generated by the activation of local interneurons. The effects of pharmacological antagonists on glut-IPSPs and on electrically-evoked early and late IPSPs were assessed in the same cells during the same application of the antagonist. Local application of the GABAB antagonist 2-OH saclofen (1-4 mM) reduced both glut-IPSPs and late IPSPs but not early IPSPs. In contrast, the GABAB antagonist phaclofen (20 mM) reduced late IPSPs but not early IPSPs but not early IPSPs or glut-IPSPs. Early IPSPs were blocked by the GABAA antagonists bicuculline and picrotoxin but late IPSPs and glut-IPSPs were not. Repetitive electrical stimulation depressed early and late IPSPs as well as glut-IPSPs, suggesting that interneurons activated with glutamate were also stimulated electrically. Thus, interneurons in str. lacunosum-moleculare appear to inhibit pyramidal cells via a GABAB receptor-mediated IPSP. The discrepancy in the pharmacological profile of the GABAB glut-IPSPs and of the GABAB late IPSPs may suggest the presence of two GABAB mechanisms in CA1 pyramidal cells.

Quantal analysis of suppressing action of baclofen on mossy fiber synapses in guinea pig hippocampus

Baclofen, a selective agonist at the gamma-aminobutyric acidB (GABAB) receptor, has been considered to reduce the release of transmitter from nerve terminals by acting on presynaptic GABAB receptors, in addition to its postsynaptic action. The purpose of this study has been to re-examine quantitatively the action of baclofen in the hippocampus by a rigorous quantal analysis. (+/-)-Baclofen suppressed field potentials and intracellularly-recorded synaptic potentials induced in the subfield CA3 by mossy fiber stimulation in thin transverse sections of the guinea pig hippocampus. The amplitude distribution of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) induced monosynaptically by a granule cell could be described by the Pascal statistics. Suppression of the unitary EPSPs by baclofen (1 and 5 microM) was accompanied by decreases both in mean quantal content (m) and by mean quantal amplitude (q). The reduction in q was smaller than expected from a decrease in the input resistance of the postsynaptic neuron. It was suggested that the presynaptic and postsynaptic actions of baclofen contribute almost equally to suppression of the transmission at 1 microM, whereas the presynaptic action predominates at 5 microM.

Influence of extracellular and intracellular pH on GABA-gated chloride conductance in crayfish muscle fibres

The effect of intracellular and extracellular pH on GABA-gated Cl- conductance was studied using H(+)-selective microelectrodes and a three-microelectrode voltage clamp in crayfish leg opener muscle fibres in bicarbonate-free solutions. Experimental variation of intracellular pH in the range 6.4-8.0 did not affect the GABA-gated conductance. In contrast to this, the GABA-gated conductance was sensitive to changes in external pH. Raising the external pH from 7.4 to 8.4 decreased the GABA-gated peak conductance observed immediately following application of GABA by 30%, and a change from 7.4 to 6.4 produced an increase of 26%. The effect of extracellular pH on the GABA-gated peak conductance was approximately linear in the pH range 6.4-8.9. A slight decrease in the slope of the pH-conductance relationship was evident in the pH range 5.4-6.4. The desensitization of the GABA-gated conductance was also affected by external pH. At pH 6.9 the conductance produced by 1 mM GABA showed a desensitization of about 15%, and at pH 8.9 this value was 34%. Raising the external pH in the presence of GABA decreased the GABA-gated peak conductance and increased the fractional desensitization, while lowering the external pH produced opposite effects, and was capable of repriming the conductance from a desensitized state to the non-desensitized state. The above results show that the GABA-gated conductance is sensitive to changes in external pH in the physiological range, and suggest that pH-dependent changes in the postsynaptic efficacy of GABA-mediated inhibition may contribute to H+ modulation of neuronal excitability.

Identification of a putative gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor subunit rho2 cDNA and colocalization of the genes encoding rho2 (GABRR2) and rho1 (GABRR1) to human chromosome 6q14-q21 and mouse chromosome 4

Screening of a genomic DNA library with a portion of the cDNA encoding the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor subunit rho1 identified two distinct clones. DNA sequencing revealed that one clone contained a single exon from the rho1 gene (GABBR1) while the second clone encompassed an exon with 96% identity to the rho1 gene. Screening of a human retina cDNA library with oligonucleotides specific for the exon in the second clone identified a 3-kb cDNA with an open reading frame of 1395 bp. The predicted amino acid sequence of this cDNA demonstrates 30 to 38% similarity to alpha, beta, gamma, and delta GABA receptor subunits and 74% similarity to the GABA rho1 subunit suggesting that the newly isolated cDNA encodes a new member of the rho subunit family, tentatively named GABA rho2. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of rho1 and rho2 gene sequences from DNA of three somatic cell hybrid panels maps both genes to human chromosome 6, bands q14 to q21. Tight linkage was also demonstrated between restriction fragment length variants (RFLVs) from each rho gene and the Tsha locus on mouse chromosome 4, which is homologous to the CGA locus on human chromosome 6q12-q21. These two lines of evidence confirm that GABRR1 and newly identified GABRR2 map to the same region on human chromosome 6. This close physical association and high degree of sequence similarity raises the possibility that one rho gene arose from the other by duplication.

A novel modulatory binding site for zinc on the GABAA receptor complex in cultured rat neurones

1. The properties of gamma-aminobutyric acidA (GABAA) receptor-ion channel complexes and the interaction with the transition metal zinc, were studied on rat sympathetic and cerebellar neurones in dissociated culture using patch clamp recording techniques. 2. The antagonism of GABA-induced membrane currents by zinc on sympathetic neurones was subject to developmental influence. Using embryonic sympathetic neurones acutely cultured for 24-72 h, GABA responses were more depressed by zinc when compared to responses evoked on adult neurones cultured for the same period. For neurones developing in vivo, the percentage inhibition of GABA responses produced by zinc in embryonic neurones was estimated to decline by 50% after 48.2 days following birth. 3. Embryonic sympathetic neurones maintained in culture for prolonged periods (40-50 days in vitro, DIV) became less sensitive to zinc when compared to neurones cultured for shorter periods (10-20 DIV). The decrease in the zinc inhibition for neurones maintained in vitro proceeded at an apparent rate of 0.55% per day. 4. Activation of the GABA receptor by muscimol (0.2-2 microM) was also antagonized by zinc (50-100 microM). 5. Lowering the pH of the perfusing Krebs solution did not affect the inhibition of GABA responses by zinc on sympathetic neurones. 6. Modulation of the GABAA receptor by some benzodiazepines, a barbiturate, a steroid based on pregnanolone, or antagonists bicuculline and picrotoxinin, did not interfere with the antagonism exerted by zinc on sympathetic neurones. A novel binding site for zinc on the GABAA receptor is proposed. 7. Analysis of the GABA-activated current noise on sympathetic neurones revealed two kinetic components to the power spectra requiring a double Lorentzian fit. The time constant describing the fast component (tau 2, 2.1 ms) was unaffected by zinc, whereas the slow component time constant (tau 1, 21.7 ms) was slightly reduced to 17.1 ms. 8. The apparent single-channel conductance for GABA-activated ion channels was determined from the power spectra (gamma s = 22.7 pS) and also from the relationship between the mean GABA-induced inward current and the variance of the current (gamma v = 24 pS). Zinc (25-100 microM) did not affect the single-channel conductance. 9. Single GABA-activated ion channels were recorded from outside-out patches taken from the soma of large cerebellar neurones. Single GABA channels were capable of activation to multiple current amplitudes which were assessed into the following conductance levels: 8, 18, 23, 29 and 34 pS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

On the inhibitory actions of baclofen and gamma-aminobutyric acid in rat ventral midbrain culture

1. Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings were used to study the effects of (-)-baclofen and of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on neurones cultured from the ventral midbrain of embryonic rats. 2. Baclofen induced an outward current (IBac) at a holding potential of -60 mV. The maximal current was 80 pA, and half-maximal current was evoked by 5 microM-baclofen. The proportion of cells affected by baclofen was greater in 25-day-old cultures than in 14-day-old cultures. 3. IBac was blocked by barium (1 mM), and it reversed polarity at a potential that changed according to the Nernst equation when the extracellular potassium concentration was changed. The reversal potential was not different when recording electrodes contained caesium instead of potassium. 4. GABA (10-20 microM), in the presence of picrotoxin (50 microM) and bicuculline (50 microM), also evoked a small potassium current at -60 mV. There was no correlation between the amplitude of the potassium current caused by GABA and that caused by baclofen measured in the same neurones. 5. Spontaneous synaptic currents (up to hundreds of picoamps) were observed that were blocked by picrotoxin (20 microM; IPSCs) or by 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX, 10 microM; EPSCs); the amplitude and frequency were strongly reduced by baclofen and by GABA. 6. Spontaneous synaptic currents of lower amplitudes (up to 60 pA) remained in the presence of tetrodotoxin. IPSCs (blocked by picrotoxin, reversal at -50 mV) and EPSCs (blocked by CNQX, reversal at 0 mV) were reduced in frequency by baclofen. GABA, in the presence of bicuculline and picrotoxin, had a similar effect on the EPSCs. This action of baclofen persisted in barium (1 mM), and was observed as readily in cells cultured for 14 days as those cultured for 25 days. 7. Some spontaneous synaptic currents remained in the presence of tetrodotoxin and cadmium (100 microM). Their frequency was reduced by baclofen. The effectiveness of baclofen was greater on cells that had been longer in culture. 8. It is concluded that activation of GABAB receptors has two main effects on neurones cultured from rat ventral midbrain. These are potassium conductance increase, and inhibition of the spontaneous release of GABA and excitatory amino acids; both effects can be observed in tetrodotoxin and cadmium.

GABA: an excitatory transmitter in early postnatal life

In the adult mammalian CNS, GABA is the main inhibitory transmitter. It inhibits neuronal firing by increasing a Cl- conductance. Bicuculline blocks this effect and induces interictal discharges. A different picture is present in neonatal hippocampal neurones, where synaptically released or exogenously applied GABA depolarizes and excites neuronal membranes--an effect that is due to a different Cl- gradient. In fact, during the early neonatal period, GABA acting on GABAA receptors provides most of the excitatory drive, whereas excitatory glutamatergic synapses are quiescent. It is suggested that during development GABA exerts mainly a trophic action through membrane depolarization and a rise in intracellular Ca2+.

Benzodiazepines do not potentiate GABA responses in neonatal hippocampal neurons

Benzodiazepines (midazolam; flunitrazepam) and pentobarbital increase the response to exogenous gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in adult hippocampal cells. We report in this paper that in contrast pentobarbital but not benzodiazepine potentiate the effects of exogenous (GABA) in neurons recorded from slices of less than two weeks old. This finding suggests that the functional association of benzodiazepine and GABAA receptors is changed during early postnatal life.

The effect of bicuculline and baclofen on the dorsal root-ventral root reflex in the isolated spinal cord

1. In the lumbar spinal cord, 10(-6) M bicuculline reduces the inhibition of the dorsal root-ventral root (DR-VR) reflex produced by lateral stimulation of the spinal cord. The inhibition returns on washing in control artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF). 2. Baclofen (10(-6) M) inhibits the monosynaptic DR-VR reflex which returns on washing in control ACSF. 3. This suggests an involvement of GABAA receptors in the lateral inhibition and GABAB receptors in the DR-VR reflex system. 4. The increased activity seen following bicuculline or tubocurarine probably resets the "set point" of neural activity to a lower level.