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Relationship: 871
Title
GABAergic interneurons, Decreased leads to Synaptogenesis, Decreased
Upstream event
Downstream event
AOPs Referencing Relationship
| AOP Name | Adjacency | Weight of Evidence | Quantitative Understanding | Point of Contact | Author Status | OECD Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inhibition of Na+/I- symporter (NIS) leads to learning and memory impairment | adjacent | Moderate | Low | Arthur Author (send email) | Open for citation & comment | WPHA/WNT Endorsed |
Taxonomic Applicability
Sex Applicability
| Sex | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Mixed | High |
Life Stage Applicability
| Term | Evidence |
|---|---|
| During brain development | High |
Early in cortical development, the GABAergic interneurons have been found to contribute to key aspects of the brain development. A precise balance between excitatory and inhibitory synapses in cortical neurons is crucial for the formation and maturation of the neuronal connections and eventually the proper neural circuitry function. In the cerebral cortex, the young neurons first receive GABAergic depolarizing inputs before forming any synapses (Owens et al., 1999; Tyzio et al., 1999; Hennou et al., 2002), and thus the GABAergic system is believed to be the initial regulator of synaptogenesis. Indeed, initial depolarizing GABAergic transmission is required for the formation of the glutamatergic synapses and is therefore responsible for the regulation of the balance between excitation and inhibition in the developing cortex (Wang and Kriegstein, 2009; Owens et al., 1999; Tyzio et al., 1999; Hennou et al., 2002; Ben-Ari, 2006). Nascent GABAergic synapses contain both presynaptic and postsynaptic elements, and produce synaptic transmission (Ahmari and Smith, 2002). GABAA receptors form clusters before presynaptic terminals emerge (Scotti and Reuter, 2001), and this clustering occur in the absence of scaffolding proteins and GABA release (Scotti and Reuter, 2001; Christie et al., 2002). Also, during maturation, GABAA receptors become selectively clustered across from terminals that release the neurotransmitter GABA (Craig et al., 1994; Swanwick et al., 2006).
| 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
In vivo evidence for the role of GABA in synaptogenesis is controversial. Ji et al., 1999 have shown that in GAD65/67-deficient mice, in which the production of GABA was reduced to less than 5%, the development of brain morphology until birth was normal. These mice die at birth and therefore synaptogenesis and circuit development could not be controlled, however no morphological defects were detected in the neocortex, cerebellum and hippocampus of these animals by the time of their death. The authors of this study suggested that GABA may not be crucial for development. However, functional changes were not assessed in this study. One hypothesis is that glutamate, glycine and taurine could compensate for the lack of GABA (LoTurco et al., 1995; Flint et al., 1998).
In KCC2 knock out mice, apart from lung atelectasis, no other obvious histological changes in the brain were observed in neonatal mice (Hubner et al., 2001). Moreover, these mice died at birth, before the GABA switch takes place, and neuronal electrical activity or synaptogenesis were not evaluated.
Additionally, after premature expression of KCC2 transporter an increase of the excitatory synapses was observed, but the glutamatergic synapses were not affected (Chudotvorova et al., 2005), as in the case of NKCC1 knock out mice (Wang and Kriegstein, 2008). These contradictory results reveal the complexity of the developmental brain and suggest that many different mechanisms are involved in the regulation of the temporal profile of the two main neuronal co-transporters, namely the KNCC1 and KCC2. However, in all cases the importance of Cl- homeostasis in the developmental cortex and its correlation with the proper synapse formation is demonstrated.
There is a lack of studies directly linking alteration of GABAergic interneurons (morphology and function) with quantitative analyses of synaptogenesis modifications, and therefore no robust quantitative information can be provided.
Response-response Relationship
Time-scale
Known Feedforward/Feedback loops influencing this KER
Most of the available studies have been performed in rodent models and human cortical neurons, referenced in the "Biological plausibility" section.
The relationship between KCC2 function and GABA signalling has been also demonstrated in the retinotectal circuit of Xenopus (Akerman and Cline, 2006).