title: Electrical remodeling of preoptic GABAergic neurons involves the Kv1.5 subunit.
abstract: The electrogenic machinery of an excitable cell can adapt in response to changes in input, genetic deficit or in pathological conditions, however the underlying molecular mechanisms are not understood. In cases of genetic deletion it is commonly observed that a channel subunit from the same family replaces the missing one. We have previously reported that Kv4.2-/- preoptic GABAergic neurons display identical firing characteristics to those of wild-type neurons despite having reduced A-type currents, and that, surprisingly, they present a robust upregulation of a delayed rectifier current, the nature of which is unknown. Here, using pharmacology, qPCR and Western blots we report that, although the wild-type neurons express several Kv subunits, the upregulated current is conducted by the Kv1.5 subunit exclusively. Thus, this study reveals the molecular nature of a novel mechanism of electrical remodeling in central neurons.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Iustin V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Tabarean
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059330:GABAergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051666:Kv1.5 Potassium Channel / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000378:metabolism; D051672:Shal Potassium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D051666:Kv1.5 Potassium Channel; D051672:Shal Potassium Channels; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase; C401141:glutamate decarboxylase 2