GABA(A) RECEPTOR SUBTYPES - WHICH, WHERE AND WHY

Synaptic inhibition in the vertebrate central nervous system is mediated predominantly by subtypes of the GABA(A) receptor; which comprise different pentameric combinations of the products of 13 genes. In this article, we review the results of recent experiments that are helping to define binding-site determinants, on GABA(A) receptors, for various ligands and some clinically-important modulators. New and sometimes conflicting data, on the polypeptide compositions of native subtypes, will also be discussed. Studies such as those described here should ultimately bad to a molecular understanding of receptor-ligand interactions, and the biological basis for the large number of subtypes that appear to exist in brain.