The uptake of GABA by clonal nerve glia

A number of clonal nerve and glial cell lines are able to accumulate exogenous GABA. The ability of the cells to concentrate GABA is dependent upon external calcium, while the uptake process is sodium dependent and temperature sensititive. GABA uptake by the cell lines is specific with respect to analogue inhibition, but this specificity is different from that observed in brain slices. It is, however, similar to that of glia in the rat sensory ganglia. Although clonal muscle cells can concentrate GABA to a limited extent, a number of other differentiated cells cannot.