Nature Communications (Sep 2021)

Structural determinants and regulation of spontaneous activity in GABAA receptors

  • Craig A. Sexton,
  • Reka Penzinger,
  • Martin Mortensen,
  • Damian P. Bright,
  • Trevor G. Smart

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25633-0
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 18

Abstract

Read online

GABAA receptors (GABAARs) cause inhibition in the brain by functioning as heteropentamers formed from multiple subunit types. Here, the authors demonstrate that receptors incorporating β3 subunits can spontaneously gate, which is modulated by protein kinases and neurosteroids to affect tonic inhibition.