Abstract
The kinetics of specific GABA-binding to membranes isolated from cerebellar granule cells, cultured for 12 days from dissociated cerebella of 7-day-old rats was studied using [3H]GABA as the ligand. The granule cells were cultured in the presence of the specific GABA receptor agonist 4, 5, 6, 7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[5,4-c]pyridin-3-ol (THIP, 150 μM) or THIP plus the antagonist bicuculline methobromide (150 μM of each) or in the absence of the agonist or antagonist. Membranes isolated from granule cells cultured in a medium without the GABA agonist revealed a single binding site for GABA with a binding constant (K D) of 7.9±0.4 nM and aB max of 3.42±0.08 pmol×mg−1 protein. Membranes from cells cultured in the presence of THIP had two binding sites for GABA withK D-values of 6.8±0.9 nM and 476±311 nM, respectively. The correspondingB max values were 4.41±0.42 pmol×mg−1 and 5.81±1.20 pmol×mg−1. The effect of culturing the cells in THIP was antagonized by the simultaneous presence of bicuculline in the culture media, i.e. no significant low-affinity binding for GABA was found on the membranes from granule cells cultured in both THIP and bicuculline. TheK D value (14.3±1.4 nM) for the high affinity binding site was, however, slightly increased compared to the non-treated cells. These findings suggest that the ability of THIP to induce formation of low-affinity GABA receptors is mediated by preexisting high-affinity GABA-receptors on the granule cells.
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Belhage, B., Meier, E. & Schousboe, A. GABA-agonists induce the formation of low-affinity GABA-receptors on cultured cerebellar granule cells via preexisting high affinity GABA receptors. Neurochem Res 11, 599–606 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00965329
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00965329