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Glycinergic transmission

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Abstract

Inhibition in the mature central nervous system is mediated by activation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) and glycine receptors. Both receptors belong to the same superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels and share common transmembrane topology and structural and functional features. Glycine receptors are pentameric ligand-gated anion channels composed of two different subunits, named α und β, that assemble with a fixed stoichiometric ratio of two α to three β subunits. Four genes encoding the α subunits exist, whereas only one gene encoding the β subunit has been detected. Ligand binding occurs at the interface of α and β subunits. The β subunit, which is unable to form homo-oligomeric receptors, is responsible for assembly and channel properties. Moreover, this subunit carries a binding motif for the cytoplasmic protein gephyrin, which is believed to mediate synaptic clustering and anchoring at inhibitory synapses by interacting with the subsynaptic cytoskeleton. Synaptic gephyrin appears to restrict the mobility of glycine receptors diffusing in the plane of the plasma membrane, thereby generating dynamic plasma membrane domains contributing to the plasticity of inhibitory synapses. Glycine receptors are well established as playing important roles in controlling motor functions and sensory signaling in vision and audition and those in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord are now considered to be new targets for pain therapies. Like GABAA receptors, glycine receptors have been shown to be depolarizing during development. The functional meaning of the developmental switch from excitatory to inhibitory glycine receptor action remains to be elucidated.

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  1. Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Department of Medical Cell Biology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Joachim Kirsch

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  1. Joachim Kirsch
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Correspondence to Joachim Kirsch.

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Kirsch, J. Glycinergic transmission. Cell Tissue Res 326, 535–540 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-006-0261-x

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