Interaction between cyclodextrin and neuronal membrane results in modulation of GABAA receptor conformational transitions

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Cyclodextrins (CDs) are nanostructures widely applied in biotechnology and chemistry. Owing to partially hydrophobic character, CDs interact with biological membranes. While the mechanisms of CDs interactions with lipids were widely studied, their effects on proteins are less understood. In the present study we investigated the effects of beta cyclodextrin (βCD) on GABAA receptor (GABAAR) gating. To reliably resolve the kinetics of conformational transitions, currents were elicited by ultrafast gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) applications to outside‐out patches from rat cultured hippocampal neurons. βCD increased the amplitude of responses to saturating GABA concentration ([GABA]) in a dose‐dependent manner and this effect was accompanied by profound alterations in the current kinetics. Current deactivation was slowed down by βCD but this effect was biphasic with a maximum at around 0.5 mM βCD. While the fast deactivation time constant was monotonically slowed down within considered βCD concentration range, the slow component first increased and then, at millimolar βCD concentration, decreased. The rate and extent of desensitization was decreased by βCD in a dose‐dependent manner. The analysis of current responses to nonsaturating [GABA] indicated that βCD affected the GABAAR agonist binding site by slowing down the unbinding rate. Modulation of GABAAR desensitization and binding showed different concentration‐dependence suggesting different modualtory sites with higher affinity of the latter one. All the βCD effects were fully reversible indicating that cholesterol uptake into βCD was not the primary mechanism. We conclude that βCD is a strong modulator of GABAAR conformational transitions. British Journal of Pharmacology (2006) 148, 413–422. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0706747