PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Nadège Chéry AU - Yves De Koninck TI - Junctional versus Extrajunctional Glycine and GABA<sub>A</sub>Receptor-Mediated IPSCs in Identified Lamina I Neurons of the Adult Rat Spinal Cord AID - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.19-17-07342.1999 DP - 1999 Sep 01 TA - The Journal of Neuroscience PG - 7342--7355 VI - 19 IP - 17 4099 - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/19/17/7342.short 4100 - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/19/17/7342.full SO - J. Neurosci.1999 Sep 01; 19 AB - Colocalization of GABA and glycine in synaptic terminals of the superficial dorsal horn raises the question of their relative contribution to inhibition of different classes of neurons in this area. To address this issue, miniature IPSCs (mIPSCs) mediated via GABAA receptors (GABAARs) and glycine receptors (GlyRs) were recorded from identified laminae I-II neurons in adult rat spinal cord slices. GABAAR-mediated mIPSCs had similar amplitude and rise times, but significantly slower decay kinetics than GlyR-mediated mIPSCs. Lamina I neurons appeared to receive almost exclusively GlyR-mediated mIPSCs, even after application of hypertonic solutions. Yet, all neurons responded to exogenous applications of both GABA and glycine, indicating that they expressed both GABAARs and GlyRs. Given that virtually all glycinergic interneurons also contain GABA, the possibility was examined that GABAARs may be located extrasynaptically in lamina I neurons. A slow GABAAR-mediated component was revealed in large, but not minimally evoked monosynaptic IPSCs. Administration of the benzodiazepine flunitrazepam unmasked a GABAAR component to most mIPSCs , suggesting that both transmitters were released from the same vesicle. The isolated GABAAR component of these mIPSCs had rising kinetics 10 times slower than that of the GlyR component (or of GABAAR mIPSCs in lamina II). The slow GABAAR components were prolonged by GABA uptake blockers.It is concluded that, whereas GABA and glycine are likely released from the same vesicle of transmitter in lamina I, GABAARs appear to be located extrasynaptically. Thus, glycine mediates most of the tonic inhibition at these synapses. This differential distribution of GABAARs and GlyRs confers distinct functional properties to inhibition mediated by these two transmitters in lamina I.