Estradiol attenuates the K+-induced increase in extracellular GABA in rat striatum.

Estradiol acts rapidly and directly to inhibit L-type Ca2+ current in medium spiny neurons from striatum. Since medium spiny neurons contain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), we hypothesized that estradiol inhibition of Ca2+ channel current in the cell body would result in decreased GABA release. In this study, we examined the effect of estradiol on the concentration of GABA, taurine, and glutamate in dialysate from striatum. In support of our hypothesis, the K+-evoked increase in GABA, but not taurine or glutamate, was significantly attenuated 30 min after treatment with estradiol. Copyright (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.