title: Characterization of newly cloned variant of rat glycine receptor alpha1 subunit.
abstract: Responses to glycine, a major inhibitory neurotransmitter within the nervous system, are mediated by glycine receptors (GlyRs). Here, we report the cloning and analysis of a novel splicing variant of the GlyRalpha1 subunit. This variant, named GlyRalpha1del, has a truncated cytoplasmic region between transmembrane domains (TM)3 and TM4, and compared to other variants, the truncation is contributed by a different acceptor site in exon 9. We transfected GlyRalpha1 or GlyRalpha1del into HEK293 cells, and then examined the glycine-activated currents using a whole-cell patch-clamp recording technique. Maximal currents and current-voltage relationships showed no clear difference between GlyRalpha1del and GlyRalpha1. Moreover, dose-response curves indicated that the EC50 values for glycine differed significantly between the two GlyRalpha1 derivatives, although their Hill coefficients were similar. When present with other isoforms, GlyRalpha1del might alter the response to glycine or to other agonists, as this variant expands the potential heterogeneity among glycine receptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan. inok@hama-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Atsuo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fukuda
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004594:Electrophysiology; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D018009:Receptors, Glycine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D021122:Protein Subunits; D018009:Receptors, Glycine