Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced Convulsion Assay to Determine GABAergic Defects in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) is a GABAA receptor antagonist and is used to monitor presynaptic defects in the release of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. PTZ is a competitive inhibitor of GABA, and prevents binding of GABA on the GABAA receptors present on the surface of muscle. In the absence of GABA binding, the excitatory to inhibitory signal ratio increases resulting in a convulsive phenotype. This assay provides a fast and reliable method to detect presynaptic defects in GABAergic synaptic transmission. The assay is based on correlating the extent of convulsions with the degree of presynaptic GABA release defects.