RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Heteromultimerization of G-Protein-Gated Inwardly Rectifying K<sup>+</sup> Channel Proteins GIRK1 and GIRK2 and Their Altered Expression in <em>weaver</em> Brain
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 7137
OP 7150
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.16-22-07137.1996
VO 16
IS 22
A1 Y. Joyce Liao
A1 Yuh Nung Jan
A1 Lily Yeh Jan
YR 1996
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/16/22/7137.abstract
AB The weaver (wv) gene (GIRK2) is a member of the G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channel family, known effectors in the signal transduction pathway of neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, dopamine, opioid peptides, and substance P in modulation of neurotransmitter release and neuronal excitability. GIRK2 immunoreactivity is found in but not limited to brain regions known to be affected in wv mice, such as the cerebellar granule cells and dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. It is also observed in the ventral tegmental area, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and thalamus. GIRK2 and GIRK1, a related family member, have overlapping yet distinct distributions in rat and mouse brains. In regions where both channel proteins are expressed, such as the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum, they can be co-immunoprecipitated, indicating that they interact to form heteromeric channels in vivo. In the brain of thewv mouse, GIRK2 expression is decreased dramatically. In regions where GIRK1 and GIRK2 distributions overlap, both GIRK1 and GIRK2 expressions are severely disrupted, probably because of their co-assembly. The expression patterns of these GIRK channel subunits provide a basis for consideration of the machinery for neuronal signaling as well as the differential effects of the wvmutation in various neurons.