HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free All Versions of this Article: 96/5/1825    most recent 01264.2003v1 Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (8) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Liu, Q. Articles by Wong-Riley, M. T. T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Liu, Q. Articles by Wong-Riley, M. T. T.

Developmental changes in the expression of GABA_A receptor subunits 1, 2, and 3 in the rat pre-Bötzinger complex

Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226

Submitted 25 November 2003 ; accepted in final form 12 January 2004

Previously, we reported that the pre-Bötzinger complex (PBC) exhibited a dramatic reduction in cytochrome oxidase activity at postnatal day (P) 12. This coincided in time with decreases in glutamate and NMDA receptor subunit 1 and increases in GABA, GABA_B, glycine receptor, and glutamate receptor GluR2. To test our hypothesis that various -subunits of GABA_A receptors also undergo changes in their expression during postnatal development, as they do in other brain regions, we undertook an in-depth immunohistochemical study of GABA_A receptor subunits 1, 2, and 3 in the PBC of P0 to P21 rats. We found that 1) GABA_A 3-subunit was expressed at relatively high levels at P0, which then declined with age; 2) GABA_A 1-subunit was expressed at relatively low levels at P0 but increased with age; 3) the developmental trends of subunits 1 and 3 intersected at P12; and 4) GABA_A 2-subunit expression was moderate to light at P0 and remained quite constant during development, being lowest at P21. These findings suggest that the apparent switch in relative expressions of subunits 3 and 1 during development and the intersection of slopes around P12 may be associated with possible changes in GABA_A receptor subtypes that would mediate different functional properties of GABA transmission, such as primarily a less efficient inhibitory transmission before P12 and a more mature inhibitory effect at P12 and thereafter, as suggested by the kinetics of distinct postsynaptic potentials. This mechanism may contribute partially to the dramatic reduction in cytochrome oxidase activity within the PBC at P12, as shown previously.

development; respiratory control; brain stem; inhibition; vulnerable period

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Medrihan, E. Tantalaki, G. Aramuni, V. Sargsyan, I. Dudanova, M. Missler, and W. Zhang Early Defects of GABAergic Synapses in the Brain Stem of a MeCP2 Mouse Model of Rett Syndrome J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2008; 99(1): 112 - 121. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S.-E. Genest, N. Balon, S. Laforest, G. Drolet, and R. Kinkead Neonatal maternal separation and enhancement of the hypoxic ventilatory response in rat: the role of GABAergic modulation within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus J. Physiol., August 15, 2007; 583(1): 299 - 314. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Q. Liu, T. F. Lowry, and M. T. T. Wong-Riley Postnatal changes in ventilation during normoxia and acute hypoxia in the rat: implication for a sensitive period J. Physiol., December 15, 2006; 577(3): 957 - 970. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Y. Sebe, J. F. van Brederode, and A. J. Berger Inhibitory Synaptic Transmission Governs Inspiratory Motoneuron Synchronization J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2006; 96(1): 391 - 403. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. W. J. Bosman, K. Heinen, S. Spijker, and A. B. Brussaard Mice Lacking the Major Adult GABAA Receptor Subtype Have Normal Number of Synapses, But Retain Juvenile IPSC Kinetics Until Adulthood J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2005; 94(1): 338 - 346. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Q. Liu and M. T. T. Wong-Riley Postnatal developmental expressions of neurotransmitters and receptors in various brain stem nuclei of rats J Appl Physiol, April 1, 2005; 98(4): 1442 - 1457. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]