Role of calcium and kinases on the neurotrophic effect induced by gamma-aminobutyric acid.
An increasing body of evidence supports a trophic action of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) during nervous system development. The purported mediator of these trophic effects is a depolarizing response triggered by GABA, which elicits a calcium influx in immature CNS cells. This Mini-Review focuses on the neurotrophic role of neural activity and GABA and some of the most common intracellular cascades activated by depolarization and trophic factors. Several biological effects induced by GABA in the developing nervous system are reviewed, with particular emphasis on what is known about calcium-dependent neurotrophic effects induced by GABA and its intracellular mechanisms.
Fiszman
Mónica L
ML
Instituto de Investigaciones Farmacológicas-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina. mlf29@georgetown.edu
Schousboe
Arne
A
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D010770:Phosphotransferases / Q000502:physiology*; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*
D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D010770:Phosphotransferases; D002118:Calcium