Contributions of the GABAA receptor α6 subunit to phasic and tonic inhibition revealed by a naturally occurring polymorphism in the α6 gene

Abstract

GABAA receptors (GABARs) are heteromultimeric proteins composed of five subunits. The specific subunit composition determines critical properties of a GABAR such as pharmacological sensitivities and whether the receptor contributes to synaptic or extrasynaptic forms of inhibition. Classically, synaptic but not extrasynaptic GABARs are thought to respond to benzodiazepines, whereas the reverse has been suggested for ethanol. To examine the effects of subunit composition on GABAR function in situ, we took advantage of two naturally occurring alleles of the rat gene for GABAR subunit α6 (Gabra6100R and Gabra6100Q). Depending on their subunit partners, these two variants of α6 can lead to differential sensitivities to benzodiazepines and ethanol. An examination of synaptic and extrasynaptic GABA-mediated currents in cerebellar granule cells from Gabra6 100R/100R and Gabra6100Q/100Q rats uncovered marked allele-dependent differences in benzodiazepine sensitivity. Unexpectedly, we found that the benzodiazepines flunitrazepam and diazepam enhanced extrasynaptic inhibition mediated by δ subunit-containing GABARs in Gabra6 100Q/100Q rats. Complementary experiments on recombinant GABARs confirmed that, at subsaturating [GABA], flunitrazepam potentiates α6/δsubunit-containing GABARs. Based on data and a simple theoretical analysis, we estimate that the average extrasynaptic [GABA] is ∼160 nM in perfused slices. These results (1) demonstrate contributions of α6 subunits to both synaptic and extrasynaptic GABA responses, (2) establish that δ subunit-containing GABARs are benzodiazepine sensitive at subsaturating [GABA] and, (3) provide an empirical estimate of extrasynaptic [GABA] in slices. Copyright © 2006 Society for Neuroscience.