Korean J Physiol Pharmacol.  1999 Oct;3(5):461-469.

Physiological and pharmacological characterization of glutamate and GABA receptors in the retina

• Yang XL
• Shen Y
• Han MH
• Lu T

Abstract

Glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are major excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the vertebrate retina, respectively. Using the whole-cell patch clamp technique and a rapid solution changer, glutamate and GABA receptors have been extensively investigated in carp retina. Glutamate receptors on both horizontal and amacrine cells may be an AMPA preferring subtype, which predominantly consists of flop splice variants. GABAA and GABAC receptors coexist in bipolar cells and they both show significant desensitization. Kinetics analysis demonstrated that activation, deactivation and desensitization of the GABAC receptor-mediated response of these cells are overall slower than those of the GABAA response. Endogenous modulator Zn2+ in the retina was found to differentially modulate the kinetic characteristics of the GABAC and GABAA responses.

Keyword

Retina; Glutamate; gamma-aminobutyric acid; Desensitization; Receptor; Patch-clamp

MeSH Terms

alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid
Amacrine Cells
Carps
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid*
Glutamic Acid*
Kinetics
Neurotransmitter Agents
Receptors, GABA*
Receptors, Glutamate
Retina*
Vertebrates
Glutamic Acid
Neurotransmitter Agents
Receptors, GABA
Receptors, Glutamate
alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid