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GABA-activated single channel currents in outside-out membrane patches from rat retinal ganglion cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Stuart A. Lipton
Stuart A. Lipton
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, The Children's Hospital, and the Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School
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Abstract

γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) evokes large whole-cell currents in solitary mammalian retinal ganglion cells studied by the patch-clamp method. This evidence suggests that GABA acts directly on the retinal ganglion cells as an inhibitory transmitter as it does elsewhere in the mammalian central nervous system. Here, single-channel recordings of the currents underlying the GABA-induced responses were studied in outside-out patches of cell membrane. In some other preparations, single GABAA channels recorded in the excised patch configuration have been shown to have altered properties in comparison to responses elicited during whole-cell recording. For example, in cortical neurons single GABA-activated channels in excised patches display accelerated desensitization kinetics as well as rapid rundown of the response. Therefore, in retinal ganglion cells, responses generated by GABA in cell-free patches were compared to whole-cell responses. After determining that the responses to GABA in acutely isolated outside-out patches were indeed similar to those of the whole-cell currents in retinal ganglion cells, the unitary conductances were studied. It was determined that these single-channel events resemble those reported in other nervous tissues with 4 elementary conductances of ~10 pS, 19–22 pS, 30–33 pS, and 45–50 pS at 33–35°C.

Keywords

Single-channel recordingGABA-activated channelsRetinal ganglion cellsCell cultureMammalian visual neurons
Type
Short communication
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 3 , Issue 3 , September 1989 , pp. 275 - 279
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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