Unique insecticide specificity of human homomeric rho 1 GABA(C) receptor.

Several convulsants and major insecticides block the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-gated chloride channel in brain on binding to the GABA(A) receptor. The GABA(C) receptor, important in retina and present in brain, is also coupled to a chloride channel and is therefore a potential target for toxicant action examined here in radioligand binding and electrophysiological experiments. Human homomeric rho 1 GABA(C) receptor expressed in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293) undergoes specific and saturable high-affinity binding of 4-n-[3H]propyl-4' -ethynylbicycloorthobenzoate ([3H]EBOB) using a cyano analog (CNBOB) to determine non-specific binding. This GABA(C) rho 1 receptor is very sensitive to CNBOB and lindane relative to alpha-endosulfan, tert-butylbicyclophosphorothionate, picrotoxinin and fipronil (IC(50) values of 23, 91, 800, 1080, 4000 and >10000 nM, respectively, in displacing [3H]EBOB). A similar potency sequence (except for picrotoxinin) is observed for inhibition of GABA-induced currents of rho 1 receptor expressed in Xenopus oocytes. The present study does not consider rho 2 homomeric and rho 1 rho 2 heteromeric GABA(C) receptors which are known to be more sensitive than rho 1 to picrotoxinin. The inhibitor sensitivity and specificity of this rho 1 GABA(C) receptor differ greatly from those of human homomeric beta 3 and native GABA(A) receptors.