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Relationship: 667
Title
Reduction, Ionotropic GABA receptor chloride channel conductance leads to Reduction, Neuronal synaptic inhibition
Upstream event
Downstream event
AOPs Referencing Relationship
| AOP Name | Adjacency | Weight of Evidence | Quantitative Understanding | Point of Contact | Author Status | OECD Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binding to the picrotoxin site of ionotropic GABA receptors leading to epileptic seizures in adult brain | adjacent | High | High | Cataia Ives (send email) | Open for citation & comment | WPHA/WNT Endorsed |
Taxonomic Applicability
Sex Applicability
Life Stage Applicability
A decline in conductance through chloride channels in iGABARs causes a reduction in GABA-mediated inhibition of neuronal synaptic signaling, which is reflected as decreased frequency and amplitude of iGABAR-mediated spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents or abolishment of GABA-induced firing action (Newland and Cull-Candy 1992). For instance, whole-cell in vitro recordings in the rat basolateral amygdala (BLA) showed that RDX reduces the frequency and amplitude of GABAA receptor mediated spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) and the amplitude of GABA-evoked postsynaptic currents, whereas in extracellular field recordings from the BLA, RDX induced prolonged, seizure-like neuronal discharges (Williams et al. 2011). These pieces of cellular level evidence support that binding to the GABAA receptor convulsant site is the primary mechanism of seizure induction by RDX and that the key event of reduction of GABAergic inhibitory transmission in the amygdala is involved in the generation of RDX-induced seizures.
| ID | Experimental Design | Species | Upstream Observation | Downstream Observation | Citation (first author, year) | Notes |
|---|
| Title | First Author | Biological Plausibility |
Dose Concordance |
Temporal Concordance |
Incidence Concordance |
|---|
Biological Plausibility
Dose Concordance Evidence
Temporal Concordance Evidence
Incidence Concordance Evidence
Uncertainties and Inconsistencies
As a heteropentameric receptor, the iGABAR consists of five protein subunits arranged around a central pore to form an ion channel through the membrane. The subunits are drawn from a pool of 19 distinct gene products, including six alpha, three beta, and three gamma subunits. The high diversity of subunit genes, in combination with alternative splicing and editing, leads to an enormous variety and, consequently, variability in function and sensitivity. This constitutes the main source of uncertainties.
Is it known how much change in the first event is needed to impact the second? Yes, but very few studies reported changes in both events. One examples is Williams et al. (2011), where whole-cell in vitro recordings in the rat basolateral amygdala (BLA) showed that RDX reduced the frequency and amplitude of spontaneous GABAA receptor–mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents and the amplitude of GABA-evoked postsynaptic currents, whereas in extracellular field recordings from the BLA, RDX induced prolonged, seizure-like neuronal discharge.
Are there known modulators of the response-response relationships? There is no known modulator that acts in between chloride channel conductance decrease and neuronal inhibition reduction, even though there are many other players such as potassium-chloride cotransporters and sodium-potassium-chloride cotransporters that may affect chloride flux/homeostasis and electrochemical gradient (Prescott 2014), leading to changes in postsynpatic neuronal inhibition.
Are there models or extrapolation approaches that help describe those relationships? No.
Response-response Relationship
Time-scale
Known Feedforward/Feedback loops influencing this KER
iGABARs and synaptic neurons are present in animals throughout the animal kingdom, therefore this event is applicable to a wide range of species from earthworm to humans. This relationship has been shown directly in rats (Williams et al. 2011) and guinea pig (Juarez et al. 2013).