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Muscarinic M1, M3, Nicotinic,GABAA and GABAB Receptor ...

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122<br />

Discussion<br />

metabolic cycles are reviewed (Martin & Tobin, 2000; Bak et al., 2006). However,<br />

there is an increasing recognition that regulating neurotransmitter metabolism<br />

provides another avenue for neuromodulation. In terms of the GABAergic system,<br />

the anticonvulsant vigabatrin enhances the GABA content of neurons <strong>and</strong> glia by<br />

blocking its degradation, thereby increasing vesicular concentrations (French,<br />

1993) while the expression of the synthetic enzyme, GAD, is enhanced following<br />

a seizure (Esclapez & Houser, 1999). Moreover, both experimental <strong>and</strong> modeling<br />

studies have shown that modulating the intracellular content determines the degree<br />

of vesicular GABA release (Wu et al., 2001; Engel et al., 2001; Axmacher et al.,<br />

2004).<br />

The present study on GABA receptor subtypes; <strong>GABAA</strong>α1, <strong>GABAB</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />

GAD in brain regions showed significant alterations in expression pattern which<br />

throws light on the fact that GABAergic neurotransmission is impaired during<br />

hypoglycemia <strong>and</strong> this contributes to hypoglycemic seizure <strong>and</strong> the subsequent<br />

neurological deficits.<br />

Cerebral cortex<br />

GABA neurons constitute 20–30% of all neurons in the cerebral cortex<br />

<strong>and</strong> perform critical roles in modulating cortical functional output (Cherubini &<br />

Conti, 2001; Krimer & Goldman-Rakic, 2001). GABA, the principal inhibitory<br />

neurotransmitter in the cerebral cortex, maintains the inhibitory tones that counter<br />

balances neuronal excitation. When this balance is perturbed, seizures ensue<br />

(Gregory & Mathews, 2007). GABA is formed within GABAergic axon terminals<br />

<strong>and</strong> released into the synapse, where it acts at one of two types of receptor<br />

<strong>GABAA</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>GABAB</strong> (Labrakakis et al., 1997). <strong>GABAA</strong> receptor binding<br />

influences the early portion of the GABA mediated inhibitory postsynaptic<br />

potential, whereas <strong>GABAB</strong> binding influences the late portion. <strong>GABAA</strong> receptor<br />

activation in neurons induced a complex physiological response, namely the<br />

activation of a Cl - conductance in concert with a blockade of the resting K +

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