GABRA4
Protein-coding gene in humans
Gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor subunit alpha-4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GABRA4 gene.
GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain where it acts at GABA-A receptors, which are ligand-gated chloride channels. Chloride conductance of these channels can be modulated by agents such as benzodiazepines that bind to the GABA-A receptor. At least 16 distinct subunits of GABA-A receptors have been identified.
01Research
A study in mice compared wild-type animals with those lacking the GABRA4 gene. GABRA4 knockout mice exhibited behavioral alterations relative to wild-type controls, including enhanced performance in spatial learning tasks and reduced social interaction, features that have been described as relevant to autism spectrum disorder-associated phenotypes in animal models. Transcriptomic analysis of hippocampal tissue from knockout mice identified altered gene expression consistent with increased activity of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, related signaling pathways, which are involved in synaptic plasticity, learning, and neuronal excitability.
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This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “GABRA4”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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- Ideogram human chromosome 4.svg by National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Public domain
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