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Early expression of GABA A receptor delta subunit in the neonatal rat hippocampus
Author(s) -
Didelon Frédéric,
Mladinic' Miranda,
Cherubini Enrico,
Bradbury Andrew
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4547(20001201)62:5<638::aid-jnr3>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - gabaa receptor , hippocampus , neuroscience , protein subunit , gabaa rho receptor , receptor , expression (computer science) , biology , genetics , computer science , gene , programming language
The cDNA library screening strategy was used to identify the genes encoding for GABA A receptor subunits in the rat hippocampus during development. With this technique, genes encoding eleven GABA A receptor subunits were identified. The α5 subunit was by far the most highly expressed, followed by the γ2, α2 and α4 subunits respectively. The expression of the β2, α1, γ1, β1 and β3 subunits was moderate, although that of the α3 and δ subunits was weak. In situ hybridization experiments, using digoxigenin‐labeled cRNA probes, confirmed that the δ subunit was expressed in the neonatal as well as in the adult hippocampus, and is likely to form functional receptors in association with other subunits of the GABA A receptor. When the more sensitive RT‐PCR approach was used, the γ3 subunit was also detected, suggesting that this subunit is present in the hippocampus during development but at low levels of expression. The insertion of the δ subunit into functional GABA A receptors may enhance the efficacy of GABA in the immediate postnatal period when this amino acid is still exerting a depolarizing and excitatory action. J. Neurosci. Res. 62:638–643, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.