Spreading depolarization (SD) is a slowly propagating wave of near complete depolarizations of neurons and glia. Previous studies have reported large GABA releases during SD, but there is limited understanding of how GABA release and receptor activation are regulated and influence the propagating SD wavefront, as well as an excitatory phase immediately following the passage of SD. The present s...

The enteric nervous system (ENS) provides the intrinsic neural control of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and regulates virtually all GI functions. Altered neuronal activity within the ENS underlies various GI disorders with stress being a key contributing factor. Thus, elucidating the expression and function of the neurotransmitter systems, which determine neuronal excitability within the ENS...

OBJECTIVE To search for antibodies against neuronal cell surface proteins. METHODS Using immunoprecipitation from neuronal cultures and tandem mass spectrometry, we identified antibodies against the α1 subunit of the γ-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABAAR) in a patient whose immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies bound to hippocampal neurons. We searched 2,548 sera for antibodies binding to GABAAR...

BACKGROUND GABAA receptor (GABAAR) function is maintained by an endogenous phosphorylation mechanism for which the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is the kinase. This phosphorylation is specific to the long intracellular loop I2 of the α1 subunit at two identified serine and threonine residues. The phosphorylation state is opposed by an unknown membrane-bound ...

Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) subtype A receptors (GABAARs) are integral membrane ion channels composed of five individual proteins or subunits. Up to 19 different GABAAR subunits (α1-6, β1-3, γ1-3, δ, ε, θ, π, and ρ1-3) have been identified, resulting in anatomically, physiologically, and pharmacologically distinct multiple receptor subtypes, and therefore GABA-mediated inhibition, across the...

Accumulating evidence implies that both AKT1 and GABAA receptor (GABAAR) subunit genes are involved in schizophrenia pathogenesis. Activated Akt promotes GABAergic neuron differentiation and increases GABAAR expression on the plasma membrane. To elucidate the role of Akt1 in modulating GABAergic functions and schizophrenia-related cognitive deficits, a set of 6 in vitro and in vivo experiments ...

In hippocampal CA1 of adolescent female rodents, a4bdGABAA receptors (a4bd-GABAARs) suppress excitability of pyramidal neurons through shunting inhibition at excitatory synapses. This contributes to anxiolysis of stressed animals. Socially isolated adolescent female rats with 8 days of wheel access, the last 4 days of which entail restricted food access, have been shown to exhibit excessive exe...

Piperine activates TRPV1 (transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 receptor) receptors and modulates γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAAR). We have synthesized a library of 76 piperine analogues and analyzed their effects on GABAAR by means of a two-microelectrode voltage-clamp technique. GABAAR were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Structure-activity relationships (SARs) were ...

Association studies have suggested that Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) confers a genetic risk at the level of endophenotypes that underlies many major mental disorders. Despite the progress in understanding the significance of DISC1 at neural development, the mechanisms underlying DISC1 regulation of synaptic functions remain elusive. Because alterations in the cortical GABA system have b...

Cortical dysplasia (CD) associates with clinical pathologies, including epilepsy and mental retardation. CD results from impaired migration of immature neurons to their cortical targets, leading to clustering of neural cells and changes in cortical properties. We developed a CD model by administering methylazoxymethanol (MAM), an anti-mitotic, to pregnant ferrets on embryonic day 33; this leads...