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      Intracellular chloride concentration influences the GABA A receptor subunit composition

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          Abstract

          GABA A receptors (GABA ARs) exist as different subtype variants showing unique functional properties and defined spatio-temporal expression pattern. The molecular mechanisms underlying the developmental expression of different GABA AR are largely unknown. The intracellular concentration of chloride ([Cl ] i), the main ion permeating through GABA ARs, also undergoes considerable changes during maturation, being higher at early neuronal stages with respect to adult neurons. Here we investigate the possibility that [Cl ] i could modulate the sequential expression of specific GABA ARs subtypes in primary cerebellar neurons. We show that [Cl ] i regulates the expression of α3-1 and δ-containing GABA A receptors, responsible for phasic and tonic inhibition, respectively. Our findings highlight the role of [Cl ] i in tuning the strength of GABAergic responses by acting as an intracellular messenger.

          Abstract

          During development there is a change in the expression of GABA A receptor subunits. Here, Succol and colleagues show that chloride ions mediate the change in α3-α1 and δ-containing GABA A receptors that mediate phasic and tonic inhibition, respectively.

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          Most cited references38

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          Glutamate uptake.

          Brain tissue has a remarkable ability to accumulate glutamate. This ability is due to glutamate transporter proteins present in the plasma membranes of both glial cells and neurons. The transporter proteins represent the only (significant) mechanism for removal of glutamate from the extracellular fluid and their importance for the long-term maintenance of low and non-toxic concentrations of glutamate is now well documented. In addition to this simple, but essential glutamate removal role, the glutamate transporters appear to have more sophisticated functions in the modulation of neurotransmission. They may modify the time course of synaptic events, the extent and pattern of activation and desensitization of receptors outside the synaptic cleft and at neighboring synapses (intersynaptic cross-talk). Further, the glutamate transporters provide glutamate for synthesis of e.g. GABA, glutathione and protein, and for energy production. They also play roles in peripheral organs and tissues (e.g. bone, heart, intestine, kidneys, pancreas and placenta). Glutamate uptake appears to be modulated on virtually all possible levels, i.e. DNA transcription, mRNA splicing and degradation, protein synthesis and targeting, and actual amino acid transport activity and associated ion channel activities. A variety of soluble compounds (e.g. glutamate, cytokines and growth factors) influence glutamate transporter expression and activities. Neither the normal functioning of glutamatergic synapses nor the pathogenesis of major neurological diseases (e.g. cerebral ischemia, hypoglycemia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy and schizophrenia) as well as non-neurological diseases (e.g. osteoporosis) can be properly understood unless more is learned about these transporter proteins. Like glutamate itself, glutamate transporters are somehow involved in almost all aspects of normal and abnormal brain activity.
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            GABA: a pioneer transmitter that excites immature neurons and generates primitive oscillations.

            Developing networks follow common rules to shift from silent cells to coactive networks that operate via thousands of synapses. This review deals with some of these rules and in particular those concerning the crucial role of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobuytric acid (GABA), which operates primarily via chloride-permeable GABA(A) receptor channels. In all developing animal species and brain structures investigated, neurons have a higher intracellular chloride concentration at an early stage leading to an efflux of chloride and excitatory actions of GABA in immature neurons. This triggers sodium spikes, activates voltage-gated calcium channels, and acts in synergy with NMDA channels by removing the voltage-dependent magnesium block. GABA signaling is also established before glutamatergic transmission, suggesting that GABA is the principal excitatory transmitter during early development. In fact, even before synapse formation, GABA signaling can modulate the cell cycle and migration. The consequence of these rules is that developing networks generate primitive patterns of network activity, notably the giant depolarizing potentials (GDPs), largely through the excitatory actions of GABA and its synergistic interactions with glutamate signaling. These early types of network activity are likely required for neurons to fire together and thus to "wire together" so that functional units within cortical networks are formed. In addition, depolarizing GABA has a strong impact on synaptic plasticity and pathological insults, notably seizures of the immature brain. In conclusion, it is suggested that an evolutionary preserved role for excitatory GABA in immature cells provides an important mechanism in the formation of synapses and activity in neuronal networks.
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              Is there more to GABA than synaptic inhibition?

              In the mature brain, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) functions primarily as an inhibitory neurotransmitter. But it can also act as a trophic factor during nervous system development to influence events such as proliferation, migration, differentiation, synapse maturation and cell death. GABA mediates these processes by the activation of traditional ionotropic and metabotropic receptors, and probably by both synaptic and non-synaptic mechanisms. However, the functional properties of GABA receptor signalling in the immature brain are significantly different from, and in some ways opposite to, those found in the adult brain. The unique features of the early-appearing GABA signalling systems might help to explain how GABA acts as a developmental signal.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Nat Commun
                Nat Commun
                Nature Communications
                Nature Pub. Group
                2041-1723
                13 March 2012
                : 3
                : 738
                Affiliations
                [1 ]simpleDepartment of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, The Italian Institute of Technology , Genova 16163, Italy.
                [2 ]simpleDepartment of Experimental Medicine, University of Genova , Genova 16132, Italy.
                [3 ]simpleCenter for Psychiatric Neurosciences, Department of Psychiatry, CHUV , Prilly 1008, Switzerland.
                Author notes
                Article
                ncomms1744
                10.1038/ncomms1744
                3316884
                22415829
                428f4c34-48e3-481f-bc4d-a21bd46c45eb
                Copyright © 2012, Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

                History
                : 30 December 2011
                : 10 February 2012
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