Egr3 stimulation of GABRA4 promoter activity as a mechanism for seizure-induced up-regulation of GABA(A) receptor alpha4 subunit expression.

ABSTRACT: GABA is the major inhibitory transmitter at CNS synapses. Changes in subunit composition of the pentameric GABA(A) receptor, including increased levels of alpha4 subunit in dentate granule cells and associated functional alterations such as increased zinc blockade of GABA currents, are hypothesized to be critical components of epileptogenesis. Here, we report that the minimal promoter of the human alpha4 subunit gene (GABRA4p), when used to drive reporter gene expression from adeno-associated viral vectors, controls condition-specific up-regulation in response to status epilepticus, defining a transcriptional mechanism for seizure-induced changes in levels of alpha4 subunit containing GABA(A) receptors. Transfection studies in primary hippocampal neurons show that inducible early growth re

SUBMITTER: Roberts DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1187961 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature