Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid as a signaling molecule in brain.
Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid was synthesized 35 years ago to obtain a GABAergic substance that penetrates the brain freely. Since then, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid has been used in human beings for its sedative and anesthetic properties when administered at high doses, and most of the studies on gamma-hydroxybutyric acid have focused on its pharmacological effects. However, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid is also an endogenous substance, which is synthesized and released in the brain by specific neuronal pathways, implicated in the control of the GABAergic, dopaminergic, and opioid systems. This control is mediated by specific gamma-hydroxybutyric acid receptors with a unique distribution in brain and a specific ontogenesis and pharmacology. Stimulation of these receptors induces specific cellular responses. Taken together, these results suggest that gamma-hydroxybutyric acid possesses most of the properties required of a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator in the brain.
Maitre
M
M
Institute of Biochemistry and ER 2072 CNRS Faculty of Medicine, 11 Rue Humann, 67085, Strasbourg Cedex, France. maitre@neurochem.u-strasbg.fr
Andriamampandry
C
C
Kemmel
V
V
Schmidt
C
C
Hodé
Y
Y
Hechler
V
V
Gobaille
S
S
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006884:Hydroxybutyrate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D009474:Neurons / Q000201:enzymology; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
C039403:4-hydroxybutyric acid receptor; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C111420:4-hydroxybutyric acid; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D006884:Hydroxybutyrate Dehydrogenase; C019416:4-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase