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Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Identification and Classification of Position-specific GABAA Receptor Subunit Missense Variants for Their Role In Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons
Published on: June 6, 2025
Effects of prenatal malnutrition on GABAA receptor alpha1, alpha3 and beta2 mRNA levels
Janine L Steiger1, Mark J Alexander, Janina R Galler
1Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Pharmacology, Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
Abstract:
Exposure of pregnant rats to protein malnutrition throughout pregnancy alters the developing hippocampus, leading to increased inhibition and selective changes in hippocampal-mediated behaviors. Given that GABA mediates most inhibitory neurotransmission, we asked whether selective changes in the levels of GABA receptor subunit mRNAs might result. Quantitative RNase protection profiling of 12 GABAA and GABAB receptor subunit mRNAs show that alpha1 and beta2 decrease in the adult (P90) hippocampal formation of prenatally malnourished rats, while the levels of alpha3 are increased. Moreover, the distribution of alpha1, alpha3 and beta2 mRNAs remains unchanged in CA1 and CA3 hippocampal subfields relative to dentate gyrus. The data suggest that prenatal malnutrition produces global changes of certain GABAA, but not GABAB, receptor mRNAs in the hippocampal formation.
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