The function of the receptor is different according to how the pentameric complex is put together. Type a gammaaminobutyric acid gabaa receptor subunits and. Concatenation of five subunits article in febs letters 5806. Members of this family are heteropentameric glycoproteins composed of homologous subunits that specifically recognize one. It is made up of five protein subunits arranged in a circle to form a pore, or channel, that remains closed until its specific ligand in this case, gaba binds to the recognition site. The five subunits are arranged to form a central pore, which, when opened, allows for the passage of chloride ions into the postsynaptic neuron. In the supraoptic nucleus, antibodies directed against the alpha 1, alpha 2 and beta 23 subunits of the gabaa receptor revealed similar strong antigen distribution on all magnocellular neurons. Chloride conductance of these channels can be modulated by agents such as benzodiazepines that bind to the gabaa receptor. Influence of gaba a receptor a subunit isoforms on the benzodiazepine binding site benjamin p. Gabaa receptors are the major inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors in the brain and are the site of action of many clinically important drugs. Barbiturate affinity and efficacy depend on the subunit composition, but the.
A gabaa receptor of defined subunit composition and positioning. Aminobutyric acid type a receptors gaba a rs are anionselective ion channels that underlie inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain. Gabaa receptor definition of gabaa receptor by medical. Gabaa receptor positive allosteric modulator wikipedia. Gabaa receptors gabaars are the main inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors and. Mutations in inhibitory gabaa receptor subunit genes gabra1. The receptor model is primarily based on the glutamategated chloride channel glucl from c. Gabaa receptors containing gamma1 subunits contribute to. Aminobutyric acid gaba a receptors are the major inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors in the brain and are the site of action of many clinically important drugs.
Each subunit transverses the postsynaptic membrane in a generally symmetrical manner. These receptors are assembled as pentamers from several closely related classes of subunits. Assembly rules for gabaa receptor complexes in the brain. Distribution of gabaa receptor subunits in the human brain.
We propose binding hypotheses for the agonists gaba, muscimol and thip and for the allosteric modulator diazepam dzp. The gabaa receptor gabaar is a transmembrane protein consisting of five subunits arranged around a central pore, and its functional properties are determined by subunit composition, as with the nmda and ampa receptors. The receptor subunits assume a unified quaternary activated conformation. Gaba a receptors gaba a rs are pentameric subunit complexes, which surround a central chloride ion channel. Crystal structure of a human gaba a receptor nature. The dynamic modulation of gabaa receptor trafficking and. Gabaa receptor physiology and pharmacology oxford handbooks. Background within the gabaareceptor field, two important questions are what molecular mechanisms underlie benzodiazepine tolerance, and whether tolerance can be ascribed to certain gabaareceptor subtypes. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Subunit composition, distribution and function of gabaa receptor subtypes. They are chloride channels that can be opened by gaba and modulated by a variety of different drugs, such as benzodiazepines, barbiturates, neuroactive steroids, anesthetics, and convulsants.
Different benzodiazepines bind with distinct binding modes. A receptors composed of 1, 2, 1 subunits are expressed in only a few areas of the brain and thus represent interesting drug targets. Methods we investigated tolerance to acute anxiolytic, hypothermic and sedative effects of diazepam in mice exposed for 28days to nonselectiveselective gabaareceptor positive allosteric. Subunit composition and structure of gabaareceptor. Structure of a human synaptic gaba a receptor nature. Subunit composition of gaba a receptors containing. Subunit composition and structure of gabaareceptor subtypes.
The most common complex that includes around 40% of the gaba a receptors is the. If all gabaa receptor subunits could randomly combine with each other, an extremely large number of gabaa receptor subtypes with distinct subunit composition. Fast inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain is principally mediated by the neurotransmitter gaba. The typical synaptic gaba a receptor isoforms in the brain, however, contain two.
Structure and subunit composition of gabaa receptors sciencedirect. Heteromeric gabaa receptor structures in positivelymodulated. A brief introduction to extrasynaptic gabaa receptors and tonic gabaa receptor mediated inhibition in physiology and disease extrasynaptic gabaa receptors. The gabaa receptor is made up of five subunit proteins. Subunit composition, distribution and function of gabaa. Subunit composition, distribution and function of gabaa receptor subtypes volume. Gabaa receptor subunit mutations and genetic epilepsies. A gabaa receptor of defined subunit composition and. They are made up of five subunits that can belong to eight different subunit classes. The gabaa receptor molecule has a specific site at which. Structure, function, and modulation of gaba a receptors erwin sigel 1 and. Neuroscience letters 364 2004 6770 gabaa receptor 1 and 6 subunits mediate cell surface anchoring in cultured cells macarena perana, helen hooperb, sharon l.
The existence of multiple gabaa receptor subtypes with distinct subunit composition, the contribution of distinct subunit sequences to binding sites of different receptor subtypes, as well as the observation that even subunits not directly contributing to a binding site are able to influence affinity and efficacy of drugs, contribute to a. Gaba a receptor expression on the surface of neurons is dynamic. Structure, pharmacology, and function of gabaa receptor. Gammaaminobutyric acid receptor subunit alpha1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the gabra1 gene gaba is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain where it acts at gabaa receptors, which are ligandgated chloride channels. If all gaba a receptor subunits could randomly combine with each other, an extremely large number of gaba a receptor subtypes with distinct subunit composition and arrangement would be formed. Thus, different receptor configurations are associated to different pharmacological and functional properties. Gabaa receptors are the principal mediators of rapid inhibitor synaptic transmission in the brain, and a decline in gabaa signalling leads to diseases including epilepsy, insomnia, anxiety and. Recombinant gaba a receptors with different subunit isoform composition display differing sensitivity to the endogenous agonist gaba.
In neurons, this increases the threshold needed to excite them. Gabaa receptors are the most important inhibitory transmitter receptors in the central nervous system cns. The pharmacological properties of this receptor subtype, however, are largely unknown. Pharmacological properties of gabaa receptors containing 1. Each of these groups contains several different subunits e.
Each isoform consists of five homologous or identical subunits surrounding a central chloride ionselective channel gated by gaba. A unified model of the gabaa receptor comprising agonist. Gaba a rs belong to the superfamily of cysloop ligandgated ion channels that comprises nicotinic acetylcholine receptors nachrs, strychninesensitive glycine receptors, and 5hydroxytryptamine type3 receptors 5ht 3 rs. The exact subunit composition of most gabaa receptors is not known. Gaba a receptor b and g 2 subunits are phosphorylated by pka and pkc upon the activation of corresponding gpcrs for muscarinic m1 359, dopamine d4 332, and serotonin 5ht 2. Pentamers with distinct subunit compositions localize differentially at synaptic and nonsynaptic sites to mediate phasic and tonic inhibition, respectively. In contrast, ionotropic gaba receptors present at lateral inputs are less sensitive to bicuculline and are partially blocked by the benzodiazepines. Such diversity provides many avenues for the design and development of new chemical entities acting on gabaa receptors. Individual subunits differ in their regional and subcellular patterns of. Peng z, hauer b, mihalek rm, homanics ge, sieghart w, olsen rw, houser cr. Gabaa receptors containing r1 subunits contribute to in. The gaba a receptors are made up of subunits which form a receptor complex.
Influence of gabaa receptor a subunit isoforms on the. Many different gabaa receptor subunits have been identified. These receptors are composed of five subunits that can belong to eight different subunit classes. Department of biochemistry and molecular biology, brain research institute, university of vienna, spitalgasse 4, 1090 vienna, austria keywords. Seventythree per cent of these underpredicted compounds are linked to the cns as the target system i. Humans have 19 receptor subunits and are classified into. In addition to the gaba binding site, the gaba a receptor complex appears to have distinct allosteric binding sites for benzodiazepines, barbiturate s, ethanol, cite journal author santhakumar v, wallner m. Structure and subunit composition of gabaa receptors. There is also a significant diversity of gabaa receptor subtypes composed of different protein subunits. Using immunochemical and ligandbinding techniques, the subunit composition of gabaa receptors has been shown to exhibit a degree of brain regional. The human subunits display very high levels of sequence identity with the corresponding bovine receptor subunits. Gammaaminobutyric acid receptor subunit alpha1 wikipedia. The deduced amino acid sequences of cdna clones encoding human gaba a receptor. Subunit composition and quantitative importance of gabaa.
This receptor is an ionotropic membrane receptor, which facilitates the movement of chloride into cells. The gabaa receptors structure is typical of most ligandgated ionotropic receptors. Using sequential doubleimmunoperoxidase staining, immunoreactivity for all three subunits was observed on both oxytocin and vasopressin neurons of the. Gaba a receptors are the major inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors in the brain and are the site of action of many clinically important drugs. Gaba a receptor gaba a r pentamers are assembled from a pool of 19 subunits, and variety in subunit combinations diversifies gaba a r functions to tune brain activity. The gaba a receptor is one of two ligandgated ion channel s responsible for mediating the effects of gammaaminobutyric acid gaba, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. In the present study, we expressed 1 2 1gaba a receptors in xenopus laevis oocytes and analyzed their modulation by 21. Gabaa receptor channel pharmacology bentham science. Gaba r subunits are thought to participate in forming gabac receptors on the neuronal membrane, but the exact molecular composition of these receptors is yet. The discovery of subtype specific agents is a major challenge in the continuing development of gabaa receptor pharmacology. Eight classes of gaba a receptor subunits have been described to date a16, b, c, d, e, h, p, r, allowing for extensive heterogeneity in receptor subunit composition across neuronal cell types and brain regions. Gaba a r subunits are distributed widely throughout the human brain and spinal cord and are activated by the extensive gabaergic inhibitory system that exists throughout the human cns. Gabaa receptors are composed of five membranespanning subunits, selected from eight subunit subtypes. Depending on their subunit composition these receptors exhibit distinct pharmacological and electrophysiological properties.
Pdf subunit composition, distribution and function of. Synthesis of gabaa receptor agonists and evaluation of. Subunit composition, distribution and function of gaba a receptor subtypes volume. These gaba a r complexes are comprised of combinations of subunits. Subunit composition, distribution and function of gabaa receptor. Gabac receptors in the vertebrate retina by haohua qian. The gabaa receptor gabaar is an ionotropic receptor and ligandgated ion channel. Structure, function, and modulation of gabaa receptors. Subunit composition can vary widely between regions and subtypes may be associated with.
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