ISSN:
1471-4159
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract: In olivocerebellar circuits, changes in the subunit composition of GABAA receptors occur at a time of extensive synaptic remodeling. In the deep cerebellar nuclei, GABAA receptor α1, β2, and γ2 subunit mRNA expression increases throughout neonatal development, whereas in the inferior olivary complex, the perinatal combination of α3, α5, β3, and γ2 mRNAs switches to the adult combination of α2, α4, β3, and γ1 during postnatal week 2. In situ hybridization was used to examine changes in subunit expression in the olivocerebellar nuclei of Purkinje cell degeneration and weaver mutant mice. In Purkinje cell degeneration, subunit transcripts decreased below control levels in olivary neurons; however, α1, β2, and γ2 transcript levels were slightly increased in the medial nucleus of the deep cerebellar nuclei. In weaver olivary neurons, although the switch from early- to late-onset subunit mRNAs occurred as in normal mice, transcript levels were differentially modulated by the mutation. Our studies indicate that major alterations in synaptic connectivity do not prevent developmentally programmed switches in GABAA receptor gene expression but can modulate the timing and level of transcript expression in afferent and efferent neurons.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-4159.2000.0742190.x
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