A COMPARISON OF GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID METABOLISM IN RABBIT AND MOUSE NERVOUS TISSUE.
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Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory amino acid and acts as an intercellular transmitter in the central nervous system and peripheral tissues. In pineal glands, GABA is supposed to be a paracrine-like modulator of secretion of melatonin, although its mode of action, especially the sites of GABA signal appearance, is unknown. Vesicular inhibitory amino acid transporter (VIAAT) is a potential marker for the GABAergic phenotype. Here we presented evidence that VIAAT is expressed in GFAP-expressing astrocytes and a subpopulation of OX42-expressing microglia, but not in pinealocytes in cultured cells of rat pineal glands. The VIAAT-expressing cells also exhibit GABA immunoreactivity. Essentially the same results were obtained for pineal glands. These results suggest that GABA is stored and secreted from astrocytes and a subpopulation of microglia in pineal glands.
Transfer of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid across the normal blood-brain barrier is minimal. One prerequisite for gamma-aminobutyric acid in plasma contributing to the neural inhibition of hepatic encephalopathy would be that increased transfer of gamma-aminobutyric acid across the blood-brain barrier occurs in liver failure. The aim of the present study was to determine if brain gamma-aminobutyric acid uptake is increased in rabbits with stage II-III (precoma) hepatic encephalopathy due to galactosamine-induced fulminant hepatic failure. A modification of the Oldendorf intracarotid artery-injection technique was applied. [3H] gamma-aminobutyric acid, [14C] butanol, and 113mIn-labeled serum protein (transferrin) were injected simultaneously 4 s before decapitation. The ipsilateral brain uptake index of gamma-aminobutyric acid was determined from measurements of the 3 isotopes in 5 brain regions. Uncorrected or simple brain uptake indices of [3H] gamma-aminobutyric acid and [113mIn] transferrin were calculated using [14C] butanol as the highly extracted reference compound. The [113mIn] transferrin data were also used to "correct" the brain uptake index of [3H] gamma-aminobutyric acid for intravascular retention of [3H] gamma-aminobutyric acid. The methodology adopted minimized problems attributable to rapid [3H] gamma-aminobutyric acid metabolism, and slow brain washout and recirculation of the radiolabeled tracers. Both the uncorrected and corrected brain uptake indices of gamma-aminobutyric acid as well as the simple brain uptake index of transferrin were significantly increased in both stage II and III hepatic encephalopathy in all brain regions studied. Moreover, these brain uptake indices were significantly greater in stage III hepatic encephalopathy than in stage II hepatic encephalopathy. These findings indicate that transfer of gamma-aminobutyric acid from plasma to brain extracellular fluid is increased in the model of hepatic encephalopathy studied; hence, they provide support for the hypothesis that plasma-derived gamma-aminobutyric acid may contribute to the neural inhibition of hepatic encephalopathy due to fulminant hepatic failure.
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Several studies have shown that inorganic lead added in vitro does not alter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release from rat brain synaptosomes. The decrease in GABA release observed following chronic neonatal in vivo lead exposure has been proposed to be an indirect effect mediated by the increase in delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) accompanying chronic lead exposure. In the present study the effect of both lead and ALA in vitro on several aspects of [3H]GABA release from superfused rat cortical synaptosomes are examined. The present study demonstrates that lead (1-30 microM) added in vitro induces [3H]GABA release from preloaded cortical synaptosomes in a dose-dependent manner. This lead-induced increase in spontaneous [3H]GABA release does not appear to be mediated by inhibition of the membrane Na-K AT-Pase. ALA also induces a dose-dependent [3H]GABA release, but only at concentrations equal to or greater than 30 microM. Exposure to a combination of 3 microM lead and 100 microM ALA results in an increase in spontaneous [3H]GABA release that is greater than either treatment separately. The depolarization-evoked release of [3H]GABA resulting from a 1-sec exposure to 61 mM potassium chloride is reduced by lead (3 and 10 microM), whereas ALA (30-300 microM) does not alter depolarization-evoked release. These findings indicate that an indirect action of lead (elevated ALA concentrations) need not be proposed to explain the alterations in GABA release observed following chronic lead exposure.
The effect of delta-aminovaleric acid (delta-AV) on bicuculline-insensitive gamma-aminobutyric acid B (GABA B) sites in the central nervous system (CNS) was investigated by binding studies and experiments on slices in vitro. delta-AV inhibited [3H]GABA (10 nM) binding to GABA B sites in a rat brain membrane preparation with an IC50 value of 10(-4) M. It also inhibited [3H]baclofen (20 nM) binding with an IC50 value of 10(-4) M. In preparations of hippocampal slices, (-)-baclofen (5 microM) reduced the population spikes evoked by stimulating the Schaffer collaterals in CA1 pyramidal cells in the presence of 100 microM bicuculline. delta-AV (1 mM) antagonized this inhibitory action of baclofen. Since baclofen is an agonist of GABAB sites, our results indicate that delta-AV has an antagonistic effect on GABAB sites in the CNS.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate modulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and its receptors on medial vestibular nucleus neurons in vivo. METHODS: Twenty-six male Wistar rats were used. gamma-aminobutyric acid, bicuculline (BIC, gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor antagonist) and 2-hydroxysaclofen (SAC, gamma-aminobutyric acid B receptor antagonist) were microiontophoresed on medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) neurons to determine the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid and its antagonists on the neuronal firing rates of medial vestibular nucleus in rats in vivo. RESULTS: Microiontophoretic application of y-aminobutyric acid at 10, 30, 50 nA electric current produced inhibitory responses on 42 MVN neurons, these responses were dose-dependent decreases, firing rates (x +/- s) of MVN neurons decreased form (14.8 +/- 5.6) times/s to (8.7 +/- 3.4) times/s, (4.1 +/- 1.6) times/s and (2.2 +/- 1.1) times/s respectively; microiontophoretic application of bicuculline in 37 MVN neurons, 86.5% (32/37) neurons produced excitatory responses, 13.5% (5/37) neurons didn't response, firing rates of MVN neurons increased form (15.3 +/- 6.3) times/s to (16.8 +/- 7.1) times/s, (25.9 +/- 10.1) times/s and (32.7 +/- 11.3) times/s respectively at 10, 30, 50 nA electric current, which were dose-dependent increases, and the inhibitory responses of gamma-aminobutyric acid on MVN neurons were blocked by bicuculline completely; however, microiontophoretic application of 2-hydroxysaclofen didn't produced responses as bicuculline did. CONCLUSIONS: Modulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid on medial vestibular nucleus neurons was mediated by y-aminobutyric acid A receptor in vivo.
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Incorporation of the gamma 2 subunit into gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors is required for the expression of benzodiazepine pharmacology, but the regions of the subunit responsible for benzodiazepine actions have not been defined. Using mutagenesis, we identified a single amino acid of the gamma 2 subunit of the human GABAA receptor that profoundly alters the nature of this pharmacology. When threonine 142 was mutated to serine, the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, flumazenil, and the weak inverse agonist, Ro 15-4513, both acted as potent partial agonists. Further, potentiation of GABA responses by diazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, or flunitrazepam doubled in receptors containing the Ser-142 gamma 2 subunit. In contrast, responses to the Type I benzodiazepine receptor selective ligands, zolpidem, alpidem, and CL218,872, were roughly halved. This change in pharmacology appears to occur at a stage following ligand binding, i.e. the mutation affects benzodiazepine efficacy. There was no effect on GABA affinity or efficacy or pentobarbital, Ro 5-4864, or alphaxalone modulation of GABA responses. These findings demonstrate that very minor changes in receptor structure can profoundly affect the efficacy of receptor ligands. Thus, agonism is determined not only by the structure of the drug, but also by the structure of the receptor, or protein complex, with which it interacts.
The behavioral and convulsant effects of pefloxacin (PEFLO), a quinolone derivative, were studied after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration to Dilute Brown Agouti DBA/2J (DBA/2) mice, a strain genetically susceptible to sound-induced seizures. The anticonvulsant effects of some excitatory amino acid (EAA) antagonists acting at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) or alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) and kainate (KA) receptors and of some compounds enhancing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic transmission against seizures induced by PEFLO were also evaluated. The present study demonstrated that both groups of compounds administered i.p. or intracerebroventricularly were able to protect against seizures induced by PEFLO. However, ifenprodil and (+/-)-alpha-(chlorophenyl)-4-[(4-fluorophenyl)methyl]-1-piperidine-ethan ol (SL 82.0715), two compounds acting on the polyamine site of the NMDA receptor complex, were unable to provide any protection. The relationship between the different sites of action and the anticonvulsant activities of these derivatives were discussed. Although the main mechanisms of PEFLO-induced seizures cannot be easily determined, potential interactions with the receptors of EAA exist. In fact, antagonists of EAA, and in particular, those acting at NMDA receptors, were able to increase the threshold for the seizures or to prevent the seizures induced by PEFLO, while compounds acting at the polyamine site did not provide any protection. The AMPA-KA receptor antagonists were also able to exert anticonvulsant activity, but with minor potency in comparison to those of NMDA antagonists. In addition, the fact that compounds enhancing GABA-ergic neurotransmission were also able to protect the mice against seizures induced by PEFLO suggests an involvement of GABA system.
gamma-Aminobutyric acid, a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, has been shown to be present in and synthesized and secreted by rodent and feline myenteric plexus neurons. The aims of the present studies were to measure gamma-aminobutyric acid concentrations and synthesis and to establish cellular localization and uptake of gamma-aminobutyric acid by immunocytochemistry and autoradiography, respectively, within mucosal and submucosal tissues of the rat antrum. Direct demonstration of [3H]gamma-aminobutyric acid release and the effects of exogenous gamma-aminobutyric acid and muscimol, a GABA alpha agonist, on [3H]acetylcholine release from antral mucosal/submucosal fragments were examined in perifusion experiments. gamma-Aminobutyric acid content and synthesis, as reflected by glutamic acid decarboxylase activity, were present within antral mucosa at levels two to three times that of the body and muscular layers of both the gastric body and antrum. gamma-Aminobutyric acid was identified immunocytochemically, principally in mucosal epithelial cells of the antrum. Exogenous gamma-aminobutyric acid and muscimol were capable of stimulating acetylcholine release through a GABA alpha receptor-mediated mechanism that was abolished by tetrodotoxin. These results indicate that gamma-aminobutyric acid is present in and taken up by epithelial cells of the gastric antrum and that gamma-aminobutyric acid is capable of being synthesized by antral mucosal/submucosal tissues. Furthermore, these studies suggest that a peripheral gamma-aminobutyric acid mechanism that may modulate cholinergic neurotransmission and endocrine cell function exists within the antrum.
Transport of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is electrogenic and completely depends on the presence of both sodium and chloride ions. These ions appear to be cotransported with gamma-aminobutyric acid through its transporter [reviewed in Kanner, B. I. (1983) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 726, 293-316]. Using proteoliposomes into which a partially purified gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter preparation was reconstituted, we have been able--for the first time--to provide direct evidence for sodium- and chloride-coupled gamma-aminobutyric acid transport. This has been done by measuring the fluxes of 22Na+, 36Cl-, and [3H]GABA. These fluxes have the following characteristics: There are components of the net fluxes of sodium and chloride that are gamma-aminobutyric acid dependent. The sodium flux is chloride dependent; i.e., when Cl- is replaced by inorganic phosphate or by SO4(2-), gamma-aminobutyric acid dependent sodium fluxes are abolished. The chloride flux is sodium dependent; i.e., when Na+ is replaced by Tris+ or by Li+, gamma-aminobutyric acid dependent chloride fluxes are abolished. Thus, the gamma-aminobutyric acid dependent sodium and chloride fluxes appear to be catalyzed by the transporter. Using these fluxes we have attempted to determine the stoichiometry of the process. We measured the initial rate of sodium-dependent gamma-aminobutyric acid fluxes and that of gamma-aminobutyric acid dependent sodium fluxes. This yields the stoichiometry between sodium and gamma-aminobutyric acid (2.58 +/- 0.99). Similarly, we measured the stoichiometry between chloride and gamma-aminobutyric acid, which is found to be 1.27 +/- 0.12.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
S(+)-2,4-Diaminobutyric acid is at least 20 times more potent than the R(-) stereoisomer as an inhibitor of the sodium-dependent uptake of 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in rat brain slices. Both isomers, however, are equipotent as inhibitors of sodium-independent binding of GABA to membranes from rat brain. The latter finding may be relevant to the reported neurotoxicity in rats of both isomers of 2,4-diaminobutyric acid after intracisternal injection.
The effects of type A (cis-unsaturated) and type B (trans-unsaturated and saturated) fatty acids, 1% and 3% ethanol (v/v), and development (7 days) on the thermodynamics of glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transport into cortical rat brain nerve endings were examined. The effects of the various manipulations, which are known to affect membrane fluidity, may be summarized. Three percent ethanol and oleic acid increased delta S degrees and delta S+ for glutamate transport and decreased delta H degrees and delta H+. Type B fatty acids had the opposite effects. In comparison to glutamate transport, GABA transport was less affected by the various manipulations and showed less specificity in terms of the fatty acid effects. Similarly, the effects of development on the thermodynamic parameters for glutamate and GABA transport were not consistent. Glutamate transport into 7-day nerve endings showed thermodynamic behavior similar to that seen when type A fatty acids were incorporated into adult nerve endings. In contrast, GABA transport into 7-day nerve endings had the character of adult nerve endings into which type B fatty acids were incorporated.
A rapid and simple procedure is described for the determination of 4-aminobutyric acid in human CSF. The o-phthaldialdehyde derivative of 4-aminobutyric acid is analysed with a slightly modified commercially available Amino Acid Analyser. We investigated the sample preparation with special emphasis on the sulphosalicylic acid-induced hydrolysis of 4-aminobutyric acid containing compounds in human liquor. Our experiments demonstrate that the amount of estimated 4-aminobutyric acid depends considerably on the sulphosalicylic acid concentration used for protein precipitation. Application of ultrafiltration instead of sulphosalicylic acid precipitation resulted in markedly decreased 4-aminobutyric acid values. By first using ultrafiltration and by minimizing the time between lumbar puncture and analysis, it was shown that protein precipitation with a concentration of sulphosalicylic acid as low as 5 g/l gives 4-aminobutyric acid values in CSF that are essentially correct.
Resistance to cyclodiene insecticides, documented in at least 277 species, is perhaps the most common kind of resistance to any pesticide. By using cyclodiene resistance to localize the responsible gene, a gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor/chloride ion-channel gene was previously cloned and sequenced from an insecticide-susceptible Drosophila melanogaster strain. We now describe the molecular genetics of the resistance allele. A single-base-pair mutation, causing a single-amino acid substitution (Ala-->Ser) within the second membrane-spanning region of the channel, was found to be the only consistent difference between resistant and susceptible strains of D. melanogaster. Some resistant strains of Drosophila simulans show the same mutation, whereas others show an alternative single-base-pair mutation in the same codon, resulting in the substitution of a different amino acid (glycine). These constitute single-box-pair mutations in insects that confer high levels of resistance to insecticides. The presence of the resistance mutations was then tested in a much larger set of strains by the PCR and subsequent digestion with a diagnostic restriction endonuclease. Both resistance-associated mutations cause the loss of a Hae II site. This site was invariably present in 122 susceptible strains but absent in 58 resistant lines of the two species sampled from five continents. PCR/restriction endonuclease treatment was also used to examine linkage of an EcoRI polymorphism in a neighboring intron in D. melanogaster, which was found associated with resistance in all but 3 of 48 strains examined. These PCR-based techniques are widely applicable to examination of the uniqueness of different resistance alleles in widespread populations, the identification of resistance mechanisms in different species, and the determination of resistance frequencies in monitoring.
The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of aging on brain gamma-aminobutyric acid metabolism. We measured the cerebrospinal fluid gamma-aminobutyric acid concentration in subjects of various ages, including healthy volunteers and patients without neurological or psychiatric disease. The cerebrospinal fluid gamma-aminobutyric acid concentration was determined by radiolabelled receptor assay using [3H]gamma-aminobutyric acid. Cerebrospinal fluid gamma-aminobutyric acid was significantly higher in the control group (20s and 30s) than in the groups of subjects in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. There was a significant negative correlation between cerebrospinal gamma-aminobutyric acid concentration and age (p less than 0.01). These data suggest that dysfunction of brain gamma-aminobutyric acid metabolism increases with age, and that the various symptoms caused by abnormal gamma-aminobutyric acid metabolism in the brain are therefore more likely to appear in elderly people.
Somatostatin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations were evaluated in the brain of kindled rats treated chronically with carbamazepine and valproic acid. Kindled seizures were almost completely blocked by treatment with carbamazepine, whereas the effect of valproic acid was partial, suppressing only generalized seizures. The duration of after-discharge in amygdala was suppressed by carbamazepine not by valproic acid. Carbamazepine induced a decrease in immunoreactive somatostatin concentration and an increase in GABA concentration in the temporal cortex of kindled rats. Valproic acid induced only an increase in GABA concentration. The results suggest that somatostatin may be associated with the suppression of focal seizure in amygdala and GABA may have a role in the suppression of generalized seizures.