title: Comparative studies on the GABA-transaminase immunoreactivity in rat and gerbil brains.
abstract: Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS). Degradation of GABA in the CNS is catalyzed by the action of GABA transaminase (GABA-T). However, the neuroanatomical characteristics of GABA-T in the gerbil, which is a useful experimental animal in neuroscience, are still unknown. Therefore, we performed a comparative analysis of the distribution of GABA-T in rat and gerbil brains using immunohistochemistry. GABA-T immunoreactive neurons were observed in the regions which contained GABAergic neurons of both animals: corpus striatum; substantia nigra, pars reticulata; septal nucleus; and accumbens nucleus. GABA-T + neurons were restricted to layers III and V in the rat. Unlike the rat GABA-T + neurons were observed in layers II, III, and V of the gerbil cerebral cortex. These results suggest that the expression of GABA-T in the gerbil brain may be similar to that in the rat brain, except in the cerebral cortex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Chunchon, Korea.
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Bahn
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Won
mesh_terms: D000612:4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology*; D003429:Cross Reactions; D005849:Gerbillinae; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D000612:4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase