OBTENTION OF NATURAL MEMBRANES ENRICHED WITH GABAA RECEPTOR FROM DISEASE VECTOR INSECTS (AEDES AEGYPTI ANDTRIATOMA INFESTANS)

IVÁN FELSZTYNA; GUILLERMO NICOLÁS COLMANO; ANAHÍ DEL VALLE TURINA; MARIELA E. SÁNCHEZ-BORZONE; VIRGINIA MIGUEL; DANIEL A. GARCÍA

Congreso; REUNION CONJUNTA DE SOCIEDADES DE BIOCIENCIAS; 2017

γ-aminobuyricacid (GABA) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in  the vertebrate  CNS.  Its  specific  receptor,  the GABAA receptor (GABAA-R),  is  constituted  by  five subunits  which  compose a chloride channel. In mammalian organismsthere is a wide diversity of receptor subunits, while in insects this varietyis considerably minor, being the so-called RDL the most representative subunit.Considering that the receptor subunit composition is critical for the pharmacologicaland biophysical properties of GABAA -Rs, functional and structural differencesbetween receptors from mammals and insects provide multiple opportunities for thedesign of more selective and non-toxic insecticides. Considering this argument,in the present work we obtained insect natural membranes as a source of GABAA-Rto be used in the search of new insecticide agents. The membranes wereextracted from the head-thorax portion of A. aegypti larvae (IV stage)or T.infestan snymphs (V stage), by differential centrifugation procedures. Proteinelectrophoretic profiles contained in the purified membranes showed bands withMW similar to those described for GABAA-Rs from other insects. In addition, we also determined the presence of GABAA-Rs in the samples by using radiolabeledligands which recognize specific sites in the receptor. All these resultsindicate that, through the procedures used in the work, it is possible toobtain natural membranes enriched in native GABAA-Rs from insects, which could be utilized for the evaluation of compoundsable to block the receptor channel, with a consequent potential insecticidalactivity.