INVESTIGADORES
DIONISIO Leonardo Raul
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
The neuronal gabaergic system in human lymphocytes
Autor/es:
DIONISIO, L.; DE ROSA, M.J.; BOUZAT, C.; ESANDI, M.C.
Lugar:
Huerta Grande, Córdoba
Reunión:
Congreso; I Reunión Conjunta de Neurociencias; 2009
Institución organizadora:
SAN-TAN
Resumen:
γ-Amino butiric acid (GABA) is an ubiquitous neurotransmitter
in the central nervous system but is also present in non neuronal cells. The
goal of this study was to determine the neuronal components of the GABAergic
system in lymphocytes and their functional significance.
Using RT-PCR
we determined expression of mRNA of different components of this system in resting
and mitogen activated lymphocytes (PHA 10 mg/ml): i) GAD67, an isoform
of the enzyme that synthetizes GABA; ii) VIAAT, the vesicular protein involved
in GABA store; iii) GABA transporters (GAT1-2); iv) GABA-t, an enzyme that
catabolizes GABA; v) alpha subunits (a1-6) of GABAA receptor; and vi) rho2
subunit of the GABAC receptor.
The
functionality of the transporters was evaluated by measuring uptake of
radioactive GABA. The results demonstrated that the [3H]GABA uptake is 5-fold
higher in activated lymphocytes than in resting ones. Using [3H]thymidine
incorporation, we established that GABA and muscimol are able to modulate
lymphocyte proliferation. Finally, we demonstrated that these GABA receptor
agonists are capable to elicit macroscopic currents in activated lymphocytes.
Our results revealed
that lymphocytes have most of the essential components needed to constitute a GABAergic
system. Pharmacological modulation of this system may provide new approaches for
regulation of T cell response.