Glycine receptor alteration in the mutant mouse spastic.
Glycine receptor alteration in the mutant mouse spastic.
复制标题
突变小鼠痉挛中甘氨酸受体的改变。
作者:
White,WF;Heller,AH
The mutant mousespastic, which carries a single-locus, recessive mutation1on chromosome 3 (refs 2, 3), is characterized by hyperexcitability, rapid tremor, rigidity and prolonged righting reflexes1. No anatomical abnormalities have been found in preliminary histological studies of muscle or the central nervous system (CNS)1. Electromyographic studies inspasticmice demonstrate abnormal electrical bursts during activity and abnormal stereotyped reflexes4. Drugs which increaseγ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)5or enhance GABA synaptic action6reducespasticsymptoms, suggesting that they result from an imbalance in excitatory and inhibitory influences in thespasticCNS. Strychnine antagonizes the synaptic action of glycine7, and binds to a membrane site with the characteristics of the postsynaptic glycine receptor8–11. The behavioural and electrophysiological abnormalities ofspasticmice are reproduced in normal mice given subconvulsive doses of strychnine4, suggesting thatspasticsymptoms might result from a deficiency in glycine-mediated inhibition4. We describe here evidence that supports this hypothesis: a decrease in3H-strychnine binding in membrane fractions prepared fromspasticcompared with littermate control mice. We also demonstrate an involvement of the benzodiazepine, and possibly the GABA, binding site in thespasticphenotype.