Reducing GABA receptors.
A number of important drugs act on GABA(A) receptors, pentameric GABA-gated chloride channels assembled from among 19 known subunits. In trying to discover the roles in the brain of the subunits and their combinations, with the goal of developing more selective drugs, one tool has been to reduce expression of the subunits and examine the functional consequences. After briefly examining the properties of GABA(A) receptors, this review surveys the means available for receptor subunit reduction, and some of the observations to which their application has led. The methods discussed include radiation-induced deletion, gene knockout, knock-in mutations, antisense, ribozymes, RNA interference, dominant negative constructs, and transcriptional regulation, e.g., via decoy oligonucleotides.
Burt
David R
DR
Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 655 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-1559, USA. dburt@umaryland.edu
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D006801:Humans; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000494:pharmacology; D021122:Protein Subunits; D034622:RNA Interference; D018079:Receptors, GABA / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D021122:Protein Subunits; D018079:Receptors, GABA; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A