The brain is a complex system of cells, proteins, and neurons acting together to carry out many of the functions of the body. A specific type of receptor in the brain, known as the glycine receptor (GlyR), is responsible for interpreting the signals of the neurotransmitter glycine which initiates a change in the conformation of the receptor allowing chloride to enter a neuron, reducing its probability to elicit an action potential. The glycine receptor is comprised of differing combinations of five subunits, known as alpha-1, alpha-2, alpha-3, alpha-4, and beta. In our study, the different alpha isoforms of the glycine receptor subunits were identified in different parts of the brain, specifically in the cortex, striatum, thalamus, globus pallidus, and brainstem.<br/>We hypothesize that GlyR alpha subunits are differentially expressed in different brain regions. The results from our study suggest that high concentrations of alpha-1, 2, and 3 are found in the striatum and the thalamus, compared to the cortex. In the case of the alpha-4 subunit, the highest concentration was in the thalamus and brainstem, and low levels were observed in the striatum. Based in our results, we concluded that alpha-1 subunit was the least specific and appeared at high levels in all samples except the globus pallidus, whereas the alpha-4 subunit appeared to be more specific with lower levels in all samples except the brainstem<b>.</b>

Differential expression of glycine receptors in the globus pallidus, thalamus, and striatum

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.