Concatenated γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors revisited: Finding order in chaos.

ABSTRACT: γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABA_ARs), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors in the mammalian central nervous system, are arguably the most challenging member of the pentameric Cys-loop receptors to study due to their heteromeric structure. When two or more subunits are expressed together in heterologous systems, receptors of variable subunit type, ratio, and orientation can form, precluding accurate interpretation of data from functional studies. Subunit concatenation is a technique that involves the linking of individual subunits and in theory allows the precise control of the uniformity of expressed receptors. In reality, the resulting concatemers from widely used constructs are flexible in their orientation and may therefore assemble with themselves or fre

SUBMITTER: Liao VWY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6572006 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature