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Differential Regulation of GABA A Receptor Subunit mRNAs in Rat Cerebellar Granule Neurons: Importance of Environmental Cues
Author(s) -
Behringer K. A.,
Gault L. M.,
Siegel R. E.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1996.66041347.x
Subject(s) - protein subunit , biology , messenger rna , granule (geology) , granule cell , cerebellum , gene expression , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , endocrinology , neuroscience , central nervous system , gene , biochemistry , paleontology , dentate gyrus
Levels of the GABA A receptor α1‐, α6‐, β2‐, β3‐, γ2‐, and δ‐subunit mRNAs in cerebellar granule neurons rise concurrently during the second week of postnatal ontogeny. Previous studies in culture have suggested that extrinsic signals control these increases, but little is known about the nature of the regulatory cues. To determine when granule neurons become competent to express these six subunit mRNAs in mature patterns and to gain insight into their regulation, reverse transcriptase‐PCR was used to examine transcript expression in cultured granule neurons prepared at 2‐day intervals from postnatal days 2 through 10. Although only one pattern of expression was observed in vivo, three patterns were detected in culture. First, the levels of the α1‐ and α6‐subunit mRNAs were constant in cultures prepared at all ages. Second, the levels of the β2‐, β3‐, and γ2‐subunit mRNAs were constant in cultures prepared at postnatal days 2–6 but increased in those prepared at days 8–10. Third, the δ‐subunit mRNA level increased over time in culture regardless of cerebellar age at plating. Moreover, only δ‐subunit transcript expression was modulated by cell density. These findings indicate that the subunit transcripts are differentially regulated by multiple environmental cues.