N‐Deglycosylation and immunological identification indicates the existence of β‐subunit isoforms of the rat GABAA receptor

Abstract
β2‐ and β3‐subunits of GABAA receptors purified from the brains of 5–10‐day‐old rats were investigated in the intact or completely N‐deglycosylated state using the β‐subunit‐specific monoclonal antibody bd‐17 and polyclonal antibodies directed against synthetic amino acid sequences specific for the GABAA receptor β2‐ or β3‐subunits. The present results seem to indicate the existence of two different isoforms of the β3‐subunit and several different isoforms of the β2‐subunit of the GABAA receptor which probably are produced by alternative splicing.