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Belelli D, Pau D, Cabras G, Peters JA, Lambert JJ: A single amino acid confers barbiturate sensitivity upon the GABA rho 1 receptor. Br J Pharmacol. 1999 Jun;127(3):601-4. Many structurally diverse general anaesthetics enhance inhibitory neurotransmission in the central nervous system by interacting with the GABAA receptor. By contrast, GABA receptors composed of the rho 1 subunit are anaesthetic-insensitive. Here, we demonstrate that both delta-hexachlorocyclohexane (delta-HCH; 1-100 microM), a positive allosteric modulator of the GABAA receptor, and the anaesthetic pentobarbitone (10-600 microM) have no effect on GABA-evoked currents mediated by wild-type rho 1 recombinant receptors (expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes). By contrast, these agents produce up to a 10 fold enhancement of GABA responses transduced by a rho 1 receptor in which a transmembrane located isoleucine residue is replaced by serine. However, not all general anaesthetics were similarly influenced by this mutation, because propofol and 5 beta-pregnan-3 alpha-ol-20-one (5 beta 3 alpha) remained ineffective. These data are discussed in relation to the specificity of general anaesthetic action. |
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