GABA Transporter Biology
Research Unit
An introduction to our field of research:
Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological disorders and it has been suggested that that seizure activity is the result of an imbalance between the inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmission mediated by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate, respectively, in witch the balance is tipped towards the excitatory neurotransmission. The treatment of epilepsy can be facilitated by: attenuation of excitatory neurotransmission, modulation of voltage-dependent ion-channels, and enhancement of GABAergic neurotransmission, our field of research concerning GABA transporter biology lies within the latter approach. A brief overview of the GABAergic synapsis is given in Figure 1. It has been proposed that inhibition of GABA transport and in particular the glial GABA transport are capable of preventing seizures, a fact established by tiagabine and other novel GABA uptake inhibitors.
GABA transporters:
To date four GABA transporters (GAT) has been cloned and are designated GAT1-4 according to the nomenclature used for the mouse clones. Ongoing research is concerned with the pharmacology of these four transporter in which the effort to elucidate their interplay in the synapsis between neurons and astrocytes are of high priority.
Group members
Professor Arne Schousboe
Post doc. Karsten K. Madsen
M.Sc. student Klaudia Raniszewska
Laboratory technician Heidi Marie Nielsen
Collaborators:
Rasmus P. Clausen, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry
Bente Frølund, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry
Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry
H. Steve White, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA
