Distribution and plasticity of immunocytochemically localized GABAA receptors in adult monkey visual cortex

Immunocytochemical methods were used to reveal new details of the distribution and plasticity of GABAA receptors in the visual cortex of adult monkeys; the findings were compared with those of autoradiographic experiments involving the binding of 3H-muscimol and 3H-flunitrazepam. In both areas 17 and 18, a monoclonal antibody to the purified GABAA complex (deBlas et al., 1988) produced staining of punctate profiles in the neuropil and around cell bodies and large processes in layers I-VI. The receptor immunostaining was relatively intense in layers II-III, IVA, IVC beta, and VI; these alternated with lightly stained layers I, IVB, IVC alpha, and V. In area 18, the laminar pattern was similar except that layer IV was split into a superficial, lightly stained half and a deep, intensely stained half. In sections cut parallel to the pial surface, receptor distribution in most layers was found to be uniform. There were 3 exceptions in area 17: (1) patches of intense receptor staining were present in layers II and III; (2) a widely spaced, irregular lattice of intense staining was found in layer IVA; and (3) a much finer, regular lattice was present in layer IVC. The patches in layers II-III and the lattice in layer IVA coincided precisely with regions of intense cytochrome oxidase (CO) staining. The binding of 3H-muscimol and 3H-flunitrazepam revealed a laminar pattern that was similar in most respects, including greater ligand binding in layer IVA of area 17, but showed no evidence of the sublaminar organization in layers IVA and IVC beta. Inhomogeneities in receptor immunostaining but not ligand binding were also seen in layer III of area 18. Following a 5 or 10 d period in which intravitreal injections of TTX had silenced ganglion cell activity in one retina, GABAA receptor immunostaining in layer IVC beta was distributed in intensely stained stripes, 450-550 microns wide, that alternated with narrower, lightly stained stripes. Stripes were also seen with receptor immunostaining and with the binding of the 2 radioligands in layer IVC beta of monocularly enucleated monkeys. Comparison with CO staining revealed that the stripes of reduced immunostaining or ligand binding corresponded to columns dominated by the TTX-injected or enucleated eye. Quantitatively, the binding in the deprived eye columns was reduced by 25%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)