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Sequence of a functional invertebrate GABAA receptor subunit which can form a chimeric receptor with a vertebrate alpha subunit.

ABSTRACT: The sequence of an invertebrate GABAA receptor subunit is described. This was deduced from a cDNA which was isolated from the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis and which corresponds to a transcript of extremely low abundance. The cDNA was isolated using short exonic sequences from part of the corresponding gene in combination with a variant of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) known as RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends). The mature polypeptide has a predicted molecular weight of 54,569 Daltons and exhibits approximately 50% identity to vertebrate GABAA receptor beta subunits. The six intron-exon boundaries determined to date in the molluscan gene occur at the same relative positions as those found in vertebrate GABAA receptor genes. Functional expression, in Xenopus oocytes, of the molluscan cDNA alone results in the formation of GABA-activated chloride ion channels that have a finite open probability even in the absence of agonist. These GABA-evoked currents can be reversibly blocked by the vertebrate GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline. Surprisingly, the molluscan beta subunit is capable of replacing vertebrate beta subunits in co-expression experiments with the bovine GABAA receptor alpha 1 subunit. These findings suggest that invertebrate GABAA receptors exist in vivo as hetero-oligomeric complexes.

SUBMITTER: Harvey RJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC453048 | biostudies-other | 1991 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Sequence of a functional invertebrate GABAA receptor subunit which can form a chimeric receptor with a vertebrate alpha subunit.

Harvey R J RJ Vreugdenhil E E Zaman S H SH Bhandal N S NS Usherwood P N PN Barnard E A EA Darlison M G MG

The EMBO journal 19911101 11

The sequence of an invertebrate GABAA receptor subunit is described. This was deduced from a cDNA which was isolated from the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis and which corresponds to a transcript of extremely low abundance. The cDNA was isolated using short exonic sequences from part of the corresponding gene in combination with a variant of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) known as RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends). The mature polypeptide has a predicted molecular weight of 54,569 Daltons an ...[more]

PMID: 1655414

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Project description:Phasic GABAergic inhibition in hippocampus and neocortex falls into two kinetically distinct categories, GABA(A,fast) and GABA(A,slow). In hippocampal area CA1, GABA(A,fast) is generally believed to underlie gamma oscillations, whereas the contribution of GABA(A,slow) to hippocampal rhythms has been speculative. Hypothesizing that GABA(A) receptors containing the beta(3) subunit contribute to GABA(A,slow) inhibition and that slow inhibitory synapses control excitability as well as contribute to network rhythms, we investigated the consequences of this subunit's absence on synaptic inhibition and network function. In pyramidal neurons of GABA(A) receptor beta(3) subunit-deficient (beta(3)(-/-)) mice, spontaneous GABA(A,slow) inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) were much less frequent, and evoked GABA(A,slow) currents were much smaller than in wild-type mice. Fittingly, long-lasting recurrent inhibition of population spikes was less powerful in the mutant, indicating that receptors containing beta(3) subunits contribute substantially to GABA(A,slow) currents in pyramidal neurons. By contrast, slow inhibitory control of GABA(A,fast)-producing interneurons was unaffected in beta(3)(-/-) mice. In vivo hippocampal network activity was markedly different in the two genotypes. In beta(3)(-/-) mice, epileptiform activity was observed, and theta oscillations were weaker, slower, less regular and less well coordinated across laminae compared with wild-type mice, whereas gamma oscillations were weaker and faster. The amplitude modulation of gamma oscillations at theta frequency ("nesting") was preserved but was less well coordinated with theta oscillations. With the caveat that seizure-induced changes in inhibitory circuits might have contributed to the changes observed in the mutant animals, our results point to a strong contribution of beta(3) subunits to slow GABAergic inhibition onto pyramidal neurons but not onto GABA(A,fast) -producing interneurons and support different roles for these slow inhibitory synapses in the generation and coordination of hippocampal network rhythms.

Dataset Information

Sequence of a functional invertebrate GABAA receptor subunit which can form a chimeric receptor with a vertebrate alpha subunit.

Publications

Sequence of a functional invertebrate GABAA receptor subunit which can form a chimeric receptor with a vertebrate alpha subunit.

Similar Datasets

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