Different effects of pentobarbital on two gamma-aminobutyrate receptors from rat brain: channel opening, desensitization, and an additional conformational change

The effect of pentobarbital on the responses of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor from rat brain was studied in quantitative measurements of GABA-mediated chloride-exchange rates (reflecting channel-opening equilibrium) and receptor desensitization rates by using 36Cl- tracer ion with native membrane vesicles. Pentobarbital effected the two phases of 36Cl- influx in different ways, supporting previous evidence that these are mediated by two different receptors [Cash, D. J., & Subbarao, K. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 7556; Cash, D. J., & Subbarao, K. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 7562]. Both the chloride-exchange rate and the desensitization rate of the faster desensitizing receptor were increased by pentobarbital at concentrations above 20 microM by an allosteric effect shifting the response curve to lower GABA concentrations. A similar enhancement of the responses of the slower desensitizing receptor occurred up to 200 microM pentobarbital. Two pentobarbital effector sites were involved in the allosteric mechanism. Above 500 microM pentobarbital, both the initial chloride-exchange rate and the desensitization rate of the slower desensitizing receptor were decreased. This inhibition, which was immediate, occurred with saturating as well as low GABA concentrations and therefore was not attributed to decreased GABA binding but to inhibitory sites for pentobarbital, different from the allosteric activating sites and the GABA binding sites. The chloride ion exchange activity was seen to recover with time, at concentrations above 1000 microM pentobarbital, in a process with a very steep dependence on pentobarbital concentration. This reactivation was attributed to the conversion of an initial form of the receptor to a final form that was less inhibited by pentobarbital. The similarity of the effects of pentobarbital on the chloride ion exchange with its effects on electrophysiological measurements supports the fact that these different techniques study the same phenomena. Comparisons of the effects of pentobarbital on desensitization and on high-affinity ligand binding measurements suggest that increased GABA binding at equilibrium reflects an increased conversion to the desensitized state.     

Channel opening of gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor from rat brain: molecular mechanisms of the receptor responses

The function of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors, which mediate transmembrane chloride flux, can be studied by use of 36Cl- isotope tracer with membrane from mammalian brain by quench-flow technique, with reaction times that allow resolution of the receptor desensitization rates from the ion flux rates. The rates of chloride exchange into the vesicles in the absence and presence of GABA were characterized with membrane from rat cerebral cortex. Unspecific 36Cl- influx was completed in three phases of ca. 3% (t 1/2 = 0.6 s), 56% (t 1/2 = 82 s), and 41% (t 1/2 = 23 min). GABA-mediated, specific chloride exchange occurred with 6.5% of the total vesicular internal volume. The GABA-dependent 36Cl- influx proceeded in two phases, each progressively slowed by desensitization. The measurements supported the presence of two distinguishable active GABA receptors on the same membrane mediating chloride exchange into the vesicles with initial first-order rate constants of 9.5 s-1 and 2.3 s-1 and desensitizing with first-order rate constants of 21 s-1 and 1.4 s-1, respectively, at saturation. The half-response concentrations were similar for both receptors, 150 microM and 114 microM GABA for desensitization and 105 microM and 82 microM for chloride exchange, for the faster and slower desensitizing receptors, respectively. The two receptors were present in the activity ratio of ca. 4/1, similar to the ratio of "low-affinity" to "high-affinity" GABA sites found in ligand binding experiments. The desensitization rates have a different dependence on GABA concentration than the channel-opening equilibria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

How fast does the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor channel open? Kinetic investigations in the microsecond time region using a laser-pulse photolysis technique.

The gamma-aminobuytric acid(A) (GABA(A)) receptor is a membrane-bound protein that mediates signal transmission between neurons through formation of chloride ion channels. GABA is the activating ligand, which upon binding to the receptor triggers channel opening in the microsecond time domain and reversible desensitization of the receptor in the millisecond time region. We have investigated the channel-opening mechanism for this receptor in rat hippocampal neurons before the protein desensitizes by using a rapid flow method (cell-flow) with a 10 ms time resolution and a laser-pulse photolysis technique with a approximately 30 micros time resolution to determine the rate and equilibrium constants for channel opening and closing. Two different forms of the receptor, namely, a rapidly and a slowly desensitizing form, exist in the rat hippocampal cells and are characterized by their different rates for desensitization. At 250 microM GABA the rate constant for desensitization was 2.3 +/- 0.4 s(-)(1) for the rapidly desensitizing form and 0.4 +/- 0.1 s(-)(1) for the slowly desensitizing form. The dissociation constant of GABA from the site controlling channel opening was 100 +/- 40 microM for the rapidly desensitizing form and 120 +/- 60 microM for the slowly desensitizing form. The rate constants for channel closing did not differ significantly for the two forms, 85 +/- 20 s(-)(1) for the rapidly desensitizing and 100 +/- 60 s(-)(1) for the slowly desensitizing form. However, the channel-opening rate constant differed by a factor of 3, 1840 +/- 160 s(-)(1) for the rapidly desensitizing and 6700 +/- 330 s(-)(1) for the slowly desensitizing form. This difference in the rate constant for channel opening for the two forms, determined by the laser-pulse photolysis technique, is reflected as a shift in the channel-opening equilibrium constant, which is 7 +/- 5 and 20 +/- 15 for the rapidly and slowly desensitizing forms respectively, determined by the cell-flow method. These constants, together with the concentration of GABA and the concentration of receptor sites in the membrane, determine the number of channels that open as a function of GABA concentration, and the rate at which they open and close. These constants play an important role in determining the rate of the transmembrane ion flux and, therefore, the receptor-controlled changes in transmembrane voltage that trigger signal transmission.     

Desensitization of gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor from rat brain: two distinguishable receptors on the same membrane

Transmembrane chloride flux mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor can be measured with a mammalian brain homogenate preparation containing sealed membrane vesicles. The preparation can be mixed rapidly with solutions of defined composition. Influx of 36Cl- tracer initiated by mixing with GABA was rapidly terminated by mixing with bicuculline methiodide. The decrease in the isotope influx measurement due to prior incubation of the vesicle preparation with GABA, which increased with preincubation time and GABA concentration, was attributed to desensitization of the GABA receptor. By varying the time of preincubation with GABA between 10 ms and 50 s with quench-flow technique, the desensitization rates could be measured over their whole time course independently of the chloride ion flux rate. Most of the receptor activity decreased in a fast phase of desensitization complete in 200 ms (t 1/2 = 32 ms) at saturation with GABA. Remaining activity was desensitized in a few seconds (t 1/2 = 533 ms). These two phases of desensitization were each kinetically first order and were shown to correspond with two distinguishable GABA receptors on the same membrane. The receptor activities could be estimated, and the faster desensitizing receptor was the predominant one, giving on average ca. 80% of the total activity. The half-response concentrations were similar, 150 and 114 microM for the major and minor receptors, respectively. The dependence on GABA concentration indicated that desensitization is mediated by two GABA binding sites. The fast desensitization rate was approximately 20-fold faster than previously reported rates while the slower desensitization rate was slightly faster than previously reported rates.     

Biphasic action of midazolam on GABAA receptor-mediated responses in rat sacral dorsal commissural neurons

The effect of the benzodiazepine agonist midazolam on gamma-aminobutyric acid(A) (GABA(A)) receptor-mediated currents was investigated in neurons acutely dissociated from the rat sacral dorsal commissural nucleus (SDCN) using the nystatin-perforated patch-recording configuration under voltage-clamp conditions. Midazolam displayed a biphasic effect on GABA responses. Low concentrations of midazolam (1nM-10 microM) reversibly potentiated GABA (3 microM)-activated Cl(-) currents (I(GABA)) in a bell-shaped manner, with the maximal facilitary effect at 0.1 microM; whereas at higher concentrations (above 10 microM), midazolam had an antagonistic effect on I(GABA). Our further study indicated that midazolam changed GABA(A) receptor affinity to GABA and the effects of midazolam on I(GABA) were voltage-independent. The benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, flumazenil, abolished the facilitary effect of low concentrations of midazolam rather than the antagonism of I(GABA) induced by high doses of midazolam. In addition, activation of protein kinase C prevented the inhibitory effect of midazolam at higher concentrations, but did not influence the effect of midazolam at low concentrations. These results indicate that midazolam interacts with another distinct site other than the central benzodiazepine receptors on GABA(A) receptors as an antagonist at higher concentrations in SDCN neurons.     

苍白球γ-氨基丁酸能神经传递及其与神经系统疾病的关系

苍白球是基底神经节间接环路的重要核团,在机体运动功能调节中发挥重要作用。近年来,苍白球在基底神经节正常及异常功能调节中的重要性已日渐受到重视。然而,目前对苍白球内各种神经递质系统的功能活动了解较少。GABA是苍白球主要的神经递质。采用电生理记录、免疫组织化学及行为测试等实验方法,人们对大鼠苍白球GABA能神经传递系统的受体分布及功能活动有了新的认识。形态学研究揭示,苍白球存在GABAA受体及其苯二氮卓结合位点和GABAB受体。在亚细胞水平,GABAA受体主要位于对称性突触(GABA能突触)的突触后膜,而GABAB受体则位于对称性突触和非对称性突触(兴奋性突触)的突触前膜及突触后膜。功能学研究进一步揭示,激活苍白球突触前膜GABAB自身和异源性受体可分别减少GABA和谷氨酸释放;激活突触后膜GABAB受体,可引起苍白球神经元超极化。除GABAB受体外,激活苍白球GABAA受体苯二氮卓结合位点及阻断GABA重摄取可延长GABA电流持续时间,从而改变苍白球神经元兴奋性。与离体实验结果相一致,激活苍向球GABAB受体和苯二氮卓结合位点及阻断GABA重摄取可引起整体动物旋转行为。苍白球GABA神经递质系统与帕金森病病因学及癫痫发病有关。已证实,苍白球神经元放电频率的降低及簇状放电的产生与帕金森病运动减少及静止性震颤等症状直接相关。此外,电牛理及行为学实验发现,新型抗癫痫药物替加平可调节苍白球神经元功能活动．这为进一步了解苍白球与癫痫发病的关系提供了新的理论及实验依据。     

Kinetic properties of GABA rho1 homomeric receptors expressed in HEK293 cells

The rho1 subunit of the ionotropic GABA receptors is thought to contribute to the formation of the GABA(C) receptors with pharmacological and physiological properties distinct from those of GABA(A) receptors. Previous characterization of this subunit expressed in the Xenopus oocytes revealed an ion channel with slow activation and deactivation and no desensitization, quite different from the properties of GABA(C) receptors observed in native cells. We expressed the human rho1 subunit in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells and quantitatively characterized the kinetic properties of these receptors using a rapid drug application device. The rho1 subunit expressed in HEK293 cells exhibited pharmacological and kinetic properties qualitatively identical to those described when rho1 was expressed in the oocytes. An apparent desensitizing current observed during a constant GABA application was determined to be secondary to an E(Cl) shift. Detailed kinetic analyses and parameter estimation for a five-state kinetic model revealed that the channel is best described by a set of rate constants with a notably faster GABA unbinding K(off) rate compared to the parameters proposed for the same subunit expressed in the oocytes. The same subunit expressed in hippocampal neurons showed activation and deactivation kinetics identical to the current characterized in HEK293 cells. The kinetic properties of rho1 subunit expressed in a nonoocyte model system may be better described quantitatively by the rate constants presented here.     

Kinetic analysis of interactions between kainate and AMPA: evidence for activation of a single receptor in mouse hippocampal neurons.

AMPA but not kainate produces a rapidly desensitizing response in mouse hippocampal neurons. The characteristic action of these agonists appears to arise from activation of a single receptor with active and desensitized states, for which AMPA and kainate have different relative affinity. The equilibrium potency of a series of five agonists that produce rapidly desensitizing responses at non-NMDA receptors (EC50 1 microM to 4 mM) was similar to their equilibrium potency for block of kainate responses. Increasing the concentration of kainate overcame such block, but in the presence of AMPA the rate of activation of responses to kainate was slowed. Conversely, in the presence of kainate the amplitude of rapidly desensitizing responses evoked by AMPA was reduced, and the rate of onset of desensitization was slowed.     

Functional modifications of acid-sensing ion channels by ligand-gated chloride channels

Together, acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) and epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) constitute the majority of voltage-independent sodium channels in mammals. ENaC is regulated by a chloride channel, the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Here we show that ASICs were reversibly inhibited by activation of GABA(A) receptors in murine hippocampal neurons. This inhibition of ASICs required opening of the chloride channels but occurred with both outward and inward GABA(A) receptor-mediated currents. Moreover, activation of the GABA(A) receptors modified the pharmacological features and kinetic properties of the ASIC currents, including the time course of activation, desensitization and deactivation. Modification of ASICs by open GABA(A) receptors was also observed in both nucleated patches and outside-out patches excised from hippocampal neurons. Interestingly, ASICs and GABA(A) receptors interacted to regulate synaptic plasticity in CA1 hippocampal slices. The activation of glycine receptors, which are similar to GABA(A) receptors, also modified ASICs in spinal neurons. We conclude that GABA(A) receptors and glycine receptors modify ASICs in neurons through mechanisms that require the opening of chloride channels.     

Protein kinase and phosphatase modulation of quail brain GABA(A) and non-NMDA receptors co-expressed in Xenopus oocytes

The GABA(A) receptor and the non-NMDA subtype of the ionotropic glutamate receptor were co-expressed in Xenopus oocytes by injection of quail brain mRNA. The oocytes were treated with various protein kinase (PK) and protein phosphatase (PP) activators and inhibitors and the effects on receptor functioning were monitored. Two phorbol esters, 4-beta-phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) and 4-beta-phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu); the cGMP-dependent PK activators sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and S-nitrosoglutathione (SNOG); and the PP inhibitor okadaic acid (OA) reduced the amplitude of the GABA-induced currents, whilst the PK inhibitor staurosporine potentiated it. In addition, PMA, PDBu, SNP, and OA reduced the desensitization of the GABA-induced response. Identical treatments generally had similar but less pronounced effects on responses generated by kainate (KA) but the desensitization characteristic of the non-NMDA receptor was not affected. None of the treatments had any effect on the reversal potentials of the induced currents. Immunoblots revealed that the oocytes express endogenous PKG and guanylate cyclase. The results are discussed in terms of the molecular structures of GABA(A) and non-NMDA receptors and the potential functional consequences of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation.     

The F-loop of the GABA A receptor gamma2 subunit contributes to benzodiazepine modulation

GABA(A) receptors can be modulated by benzodiazepines, although these compounds do not directly activate or inhibit the receptors. The prototypic benzodiazepine, diazepam, potentiates responses to GABA in GABA(A) receptors that contain a gamma subunit. Here we have used mutagenesis, radioligand binding, voltage clamp electrophysiology, and homology modeling to probe the role of the F-loop residues Asp(192)-Arg(197) in the GABA(A) receptor gamma(2) subunit in diazepam potentiation of the GABA response. Substitution of all of these residues with Ala and/or a residue with similar chemical properties to the wild type residue decreased the level of diazepam potentiation, and one mutation (D192A) resulted in its complete ablation. None of the mutations changed the GABA EC(50) or the [(3)H]flumazenil binding affinity, suggesting they do not affect GABA or benzodiazepine binding characteristics; we therefore propose that they are involved in the diazepam-mediated conformational change that results in an increased response to GABA. Homology models of the receptor binding pocket in agonist-bound and unbound states suggest that the F-loop is flexible and has different orientations in the two states. Considering our data in relation to these models, we find that the F-loop residues could contribute to hydrogen bond networks and hydrophobic interactions with neighboring residues that change during receptor activation.     

GABA release by basket cells onto Purkinje cells, in rat cerebellar slices, is directly controlled by presynaptic purinergic receptors, modulating Ca2+ influx

In many brain regions, Ca(2+) influx through presynaptic P2X receptors influences GABA release from interneurones. In patch-clamp recordings of Purkinje cells (PCs) in rat cerebellar slices, broad spectrum P2 receptor antagonists, PPADS (30microM) or suramin (12microM), result in a decreased amplitude and increased failure rate of minimal evoked GABAergic synaptic currents from basket cells. The effect is mimicked by desensitizing P2X1/3-containing receptors with alpha,beta-methylene ATP. This suggests presynaptic facilitation of GABA release via P2XR-mediated Ca(2+) influx activated by endogenously released ATP. In contrast, activation of P2Y4 receptors (using UTP, 30microM, but not P2Y1 or P2Y6 receptor ligands) results in inhibition of GABA release. Immunological studies reveal the presence of most known P2Rs in >or=20% of GABAergic terminals in the cerebellum. P2X3 receptors and P2Y4 receptors occur in approximately 60% and 50% of GABAergic synaptosomes respectively and are localized presynaptically. Previous studies report that PC output is also influenced by postsynaptic purinergic receptors located on both PCs and interneurones. The high Ca(2+) permeability of the P2X receptor and the ability of ATP to influence intracellular Ca(2+) levels via P2Y receptor-mediated intracellular pathways make ATP the ideal transmitter for the multisite bidirectional modulation of the cerebellar cortical neuronal network.     

Flumazenil selectively prevents the increase in alpha(4)-subunit gene expression and an associated change in GABA(A) receptor function induced by ethanol withdrawal

The actions of ethanol on gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptors are still highly controversial issues but it appears that some of its pharmacological effects may depend on receptor subunit composition. Prolonged ethanol exposure produces tolerance and dependence and its withdrawal alters GABA(A) receptor subunit gene expression and function. Whereas benzodiazepines are clinically effective in ameliorating ethanol withdrawal symptoms, work in our laboratory showed that benzodiazepines also prevent, in vitro, some of the ethanol withdrawal-induced molecular and functional changes of the GABA(A) receptors. In the present work, we investigated the effects, on such changes, of the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist flumazenil that can positively modulate alpha(4)-containing receptors. We here report that flumazenil prevented both the ethanol withdrawal-induced up-regulation of the alpha(4)-subunit and the increase in its own modulatory action. In contrast, flumazenil did not inhibit ethanol withdrawal-induced decrease in alpha(1)- and delta-subunit expression as well as the corresponding decrease in the modulatory action on GABA(A) receptor function of both the alpha(1)-selective ligand zaleplon and the delta-containing receptor preferentially acting steroid allopregnanolone. These observations are the first molecular and functional evidence that show a selective inhibition by flumazenil of the up-regulation of alpha(4)-subunit expression elicited by ethanol withdrawal.     

Minimal model to account for the membrane conductance increase and desensitization of gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors synthesized in the Xenopus oocytes injected with rat brain mRNA

gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors, which translocate chloride anion with binding GABA, were synthesized in Xenopus oocytes by injecting rat brain mRNA. GABA-elicited responses in the oocytes were measured electrophysiologically by the current-clamped method. Five different measurements were made to establish the relationship between GABA concentration and the electrical responses: (1) the GABA-elicited conductance increase before desensitization; (2) the rate of desensitization of GABA receptors; (3) the rate of recovery of desensitized receptors upon removal of GABA; (4) the GABA-elicited conductance increase after desensitization equilibrium; (5) the fraction of the active form of GABA receptors after desensitization equilibrium. These results were interpreted on the basis of the minimal model proposed for nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in Electrophorus electricus electroplax [Hess, G. P., Cash, D. J., & Aoshima, H. (1983) Annu. Rev. Biophys. Bioeng. 12, 443-473]. Estimated equilibrium and rate constants in the model for GABA receptors could successfully explain the results of the five above measurements.     

Desensitization of the inhibition of the M-current in sympathetic neurons: effects of ATP analogs, polyanions, and multiple agonist applications.

Desensitization occurs when the response to a neurotransmitter receptor agonist wanes in the continued presence of agonist. In amphibian sympathetic neurons, both muscarinic and peptidergic receptor agonists inhibit a K+ current, the M-current (IM), and this inhibition desensitizes. We have studied the desensitization to substance P (SP) by whole-cell recordings from dissociated sympathetic neurons from bullfrogs. When ATP in the recording pipette was replaced with AMP-PNP, SP still inhibited IM, but no desensitization was observed, indicating that ATP hydrolysis is required for desensitization. Desensitization inhibitors of beta-adrenergic receptors did not block desensitization to SP. When a low dose of muscarine sufficient to inhibit IM, but not to elicit desensitization, was applied simultaneously with a desensitizing dose of SP, IM remained depressed and did not desensitize. Thus, there may be separate systems controlling desensitization for different agonists, or the enzyme(s) involved is "compartmentalized."     

Benzodiazepine Treatment Causes Uncoupling of Recombinant GABAA Receptors Expressed in Stably Transfected Cells

Abstract: GABA_A and benzodiazepine receptors are allosterically coupled, and occupation of either receptor site increases the affinity of the other. Chronic exposure of primary neuronal cultures to benzodiazepine agonists reduces these allosteric interactions. Neurons express multiple GABA_A receptor subunits, and it has been suggested that uncoupling is due to changes in the subunit composition of the receptor. To determine if uncoupling could be observed with expression of defined subunits, mouse Ltk⁻ cells stably transfected with GABA_A receptors (bovine α1, β1, and γ2L subunits) were treated with flunitrazepam (Flu) or clonazepam. The increase in [³H]Flu binding affinity caused by GABA (GABA shift or coupling) was significantly reduced in cells treated chronically with the benzodiazepines, whereas the K _D and B _max of [³H]Flu binding were unaffected. The uncoupling caused by clonazepam treatment occurred rapidly with a t _1/2 of ∼30 min. The EC₅₀ for clonazepam treatment was ∼0.3 µ M , and cotreatment with the benzodiazepine antagonist Ro 15-1788 (5.6 µ M ) prevented the effect of clonazepam. The uncoupling observed in this system was not accompanied by receptor internalization, is unlikely to be due to changes in receptor subunit composition, and probably represents posttranslational changes. The rapid regulation of allosteric coupling by benzodiazepine treatment of the stably transfected cells should provide insights to the mechanisms of coupling between GABA_A and benzodiazepine receptors as well as benzodiazepine tolerance.     

An interaction involving an arginine residue in the cytoplasmic domain of the 5-HT3A receptor contributes to receptor desensitization mechanism

A large cytoplasmic domain accounts for approximately one-third of the entire protein of one superfamily of ligand-gated membrane ion channels, which includes nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh), gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)), serotonin type 3 (5-HT3), and glycine receptors. Desensitization is one functional feature shared by these receptors. Because most molecular studies of receptor desensitization have focused on the agonist binding and channel pore domains, relatively little is known about the role of the large cytoplasmic domain (LCD) in this process. To address this issue, we sequentially deleted segments of the LCD of the 5-HT3A receptor and examined the function of the mutant receptors. Deletion of a small segment that contains three amino acid residues (425-427) significantly slowed the desensitization kinetics of the 5-HT3A receptor. Both deletion and point mutation of arginine 427 altered desensitization kinetics in a manner similar to that of the (425-427) deletion without significantly changing the apparent agonist affinity. The extent of receptor desensitization was positively correlated with the polarity of the amino acid residue at 427: the desensitization accelerates with increasing polarity. Whereas the R427L mutation produced the slowest desensitization, it did not significantly alter single channel conductance of 5-HT3A receptor. Thus, the arginine 427 residue in the LCD contributes to 5-HT3A receptor desensitization, possibly through forming an electrostatic interaction with its neighboring residues. Because the polarity of the amino acid residue at 427 is highly conserved, such a desensitization mechanism may occur in other members of the Cys-loop family of ligand-gated ion channels.     

Prevalence between different alpha subunits performing the benzodiazepine binding sites in native heterologous GABA(A) receptors containing the alpha2 subunit

The presence of two heterologous alpha subunits and a single benzodiazepine binding site in the GABA(A) receptor implicates the existence of pharmacologically active and inactive alpha subunits. This fact raises the question of whether a particular alpha subtype could predominate performing the benzodiazepine binding site. The hippocampal formation expresses high levels of alpha subunits with different benzodiazepine binding properties (alpha1, alpha2 and alpha5). Thus, we first demonstrated the existence of alpha2-alpha1 (36.3 +/- 5.2% of the alpha2 population) and alpha2-alpha5 (20.2 +/- 2.1%) heterologous receptors. A similar alpha2-alpha1 association was observed in cortex. This association allows the direct comparison of the pharmacological properties of heterologous native GABA(A) receptors containing a common (alpha2) and a different (alpha1 or alpha5) alpha subunit. The alpha2 subunit pharmacologically prevailed over the alpha1 subunit in both cortex and hippocampus (there was an absence of high-affinity binding sites for Cl218,872, zolpidem and [3H]zolpidem). This prevalence was directly probed by zolpidem displacement experiments in alpha2-alpha1 double immunopurified receptors (K(i) = 295 +/- 56 nM and 200 +/- 8 nM in hippocampus and cortex, respectively). On the contrary, the alpha5 subunit pharmacologically prevailed over the alpha2 subunit (low- and high-affinity binding sites for zolpidem and [3H]L-655,708, respectively). This prevalence was probed in alpha2-alpha5 double immunopurified receptors. Zolpidem displayed a single low-affinity binding site (K(i) = 1.73 +/- 0.54 microM). These results demonstrated the existence of a differential dominance between the different alpha subunits performing the benzodiazepine binding sites in the native GABA(A) receptors.     

The regulation of M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor desensitization by synaptic activity in cultured hippocampal neurons

To better understand metabotropic/ionotropic integration in neurons we have examined the regulation of M1 muscarinic acetylcholine (mACh) receptor signalling in mature (> 14 days in vitro), synaptically-active hippocampal neurons in culture. Using a protocol where neurons are exposed to an EC(50) concentration of the muscarinic agonist methacholine (MCh) prior to (R1), and following (R2) a desensitizing pulse of a high concentration of this agonist, we have found that the reduction in M(1) mACh receptor responsiveness is decreased in quiescent (+tetrodotoxin) neurons and increased when synaptic activity is enhanced by blocking GABA(A) receptors with picrotoxin. The picrotoxin-mediated effect on M1 mACh receptor responsiveness was completely prevented by alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor blockade. Inhibition of endogenous G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 by transfection with the non-G(q/11)alpha-binding, catalytically-inactive (D110A,K220R)G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 mutant, decreased the extent of M1 mACh receptor desensitization under all conditions. Pharmacological inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC) activity, or chronic phorbol ester-induced PKC down-regulation had no effect on agonist-mediated receptor desensitization in quiescent or spontaneously synaptically active neurons, but significantly decreased the extent of receptor desensitization in picrotoxin-treated neurons. MCh stimulated the translocation of diacylglycerol- sensitive eGFP-PKCepsilon, but not Ca2+/diacylglycerol-sensitive eGFP-PKCbetaII in both the absence, and presence of tetrodotoxin. Under these conditions, MCh-stimulated eGFP-myristoylated, alanine-rich C kinase substrate translocation was dependent on PKC activity, but not Ca2+/calmodulin. In contrast, picrotoxin-driven translocation of myristoylated, alanine-rich C kinase substrate was accompanied by translocation of PKCbetaII, but not PKCepsilon, and was dependent on PKC and Ca2+/calmodulin. Taken together these data suggest that the level of synaptic activity may determine the different kinases recruited to regulate M1 mACh receptor desensitization in neurons.