Interneuronal GABAA receptors inside and outside of synapses

In-Between Space, Dialectic of Inside and Outside in Architecture

Defining space by dividing it to inside and outside is one of human’s ways to recognize his positionin environment. Architecture is created to response to this need for inside/outside spaces. Design of inside and outsideSpaces and relation between them always has been one of necessities for definition and limitation of human livingspaces, but little attention to relation of this two spatial rea...

Activation of GABAA Receptors: Views from Outside the Synaptic Cleft

Some GABA(A) receptors (GABA(A)Rs) are activated by low transmitter levels present in the extracellular space and generate an uninterrupted conductance referred to as "tonic." This tonic conductance is highly sensitive to all factors regulating the amount of GABA surrounding the neurons. Only a few GABA(A)Rs with particular subunit combinations are well suited to mediate the tonic conductance. ...

GARLH Family Proteins Stabilize GABAA Receptors at Synapses

Ionotropic neurotransmitter receptors mediate fast synaptic transmission by functioning as ligand-gated ion channels. Fast inhibitory transmission in the brain is mediated mostly by ionotropic GABAA receptors (GABAARs), but their essential components for synaptic localization remain unknown. Here, we identify putative auxiliary subunits of GABAARs, which we term GARLHs, consisting of LH4 and LH...

Commentary: GARLH Family Proteins Stabilize GABAA Receptors at Synapses

Direct imaging of lateral movements of AMPA receptors inside synapses.

Trafficking of AMPA receptors in and out of synapses is crucial for synaptic plasticity. Previous studies have focused on the role of endo/exocytosis processes or that of lateral diffusion of extra-synaptic receptors. We have now directly imaged AMPAR movements inside and outside synapses of live neurons using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy. Inside individual synapses, we found immobil...