Cryo-EM structure of the human α1β3γ2 GABA_A receptor in a lipid bilayer.

ABSTRACT: Type A γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA_A) receptors are pentameric ligand-gated ion channels and the main drivers of fast inhibitory neurotransmission in the vertebrate nervous system^1,2. Their dysfunction is implicated in a range of neurological disorders, including depression, epilepsy and schizophrenia^3,4. Among the numerous assemblies that are theoretically possible, the most prevalent in the brain are the α1β2/3γ2 GABA_A receptors⁵. The β3 subunit has an important role in maintaining inhibitory tone, and the expression of this subunit alone is sufficient to rescue inhibitory synaptic transmission in β1-β3 triple knockout neurons⁶. So far, efforts to generate accurate structural models for heteromeric GABA_A receptors

SUBMITTER: Laverty D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6364807 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature