Background: Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic function is altered in schizophrenia. Of particular interest is the altered central nervous system expression of GABA-A receptor subunits, as changes in subunit expression account for recognized differences in mammalian brain function making them inviting targets for novel psychotropic agents. Excitotoxic neonatal lesions of the ventral hippocampal formation (NVHL) in rats reproduce numerous aspects of schizophrenia, including decreased mRNA expression of the GABA synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase-67, though their impact on subunit expression is unknown.
Methods: We utilized quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to investigate mRNA expression of the alpha1, alpha5, and gamma2s GABA-A receptor subunits in the frontal pole of water-deprived adult NVHL and SHAM-lesioned animals.
Results: Messenger RNA expression for all three GABA-A subunits (alpha1-NVHL: 18.5 +/- 1.6 pg/mug total pooled RNA, SHAM: 11.3 +/- .4; alpha5-NVHL: 5.1 +/- .6; SHAM: 3.5 +/- .7; and gamma2s-NVHL: 10.8 +/- 1.7; SHAM: 7.2 +/- 1.5) was higher in NVHL, though only levels of alpha1 differed significantly after correction for multiple comparisons. Levels of a control mRNA, neuronal specific enolase, were similar in the two groups.
Conclusions: These data indicate that NVHL reproduce changes in cortical GABA-A receptor subunit expression seen in schizophrenia, suggesting this animal model may facilitate efforts to clarify the physiologic significance of altered GABA function and to develop novel targets for therapeutic interventions.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.09.017 | DOI Listing |
Open Biol
January 2025
Department of Epigenetics, Medical Research Institute (MRI), Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo 113-8510, Japan.
Retrotransposon Gag-like (RTL) 8A, 8B and 8C are eutherian-specific genes derived from a certain retrovirus. They cluster as a triplet of genes on the X chromosome, but their function remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that and play important roles in the brain: their double knockout (DKO) mice not only exhibit reduced social responses and increased apathy-like behaviour, but also become obese from young adulthood, similar to patients with late Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a neurodevelopmental genomic imprinting disorder.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain Res Bull
January 2025
Department of Animal Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
The present study investigated the impact of GABAergic signaling and miRNA expression on glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) growth within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and its associated cognitive and emotional impairments. The implantation of C6 cells into the mPFC induced GBM in this brain region (referred to as the mPFC-GBM) in male Wistar rats via stereotaxic surgery, as confirmed by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining. Repeated microinjections of muscimol, a potent GABA receptor agonist, directly into the mPFC-GBM (1µg/rat/2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Med Chem
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 1 Xiannongtan Street, Xicheng district, Beijing, 100050, China. Electronic address:
A novel class of 7-phenyl-[1,2,4]triazol-5(4H)-one derivatives was designed and synthesized, and their in vivo anticonvulsant activities were evaluated using subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (Sc-PTZ) and maximal electroshock (MES) tests. Compounds 3u, 4f and 4k exhibited significant anticonvulsant activities in the Sc-PTZ model with ED values of 23.7, 17.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroRNA-502-3p (MiR-502-3p), a synapse enriched miRNA is considerably implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our previous study found the high expression level of miR-502-3p in AD synapses relative to controls. Further, miR-502-3p was found to modulate the GABAergic synapse function via modulating the GABA A receptor subunit α-1 (GABRA1) protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuromolecular Med
January 2025
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221 005, India.
Hypoxia is a significant stressor, and stabilized hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) regulates the expression of numerous genes, leading to various biochemical, molecular, physiological and genomic changes. The body's oxygen-sensing system activates gene expression to protect brain tissues from hypoxia. Gamma-aminobutyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, regulates brain excitability during hypoxia through the activation of HIF-1 α.
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