Structure and location of a GABA-A receptor complex in the central nervous system.

GABA-gated chloride channels in the central nervous system contain a regulatory site, the benzodiazepine receptor, through which drugs can modulate the efficiency of GABAergic synaptic transmission and thereby affect the degree of anxiety, muscle tension, vigilance and convulsions. The biochemical analysis of the purified receptor complex with monoclonal antibodies shows a heterooligomeric composition of two glycosylated subunits (alpha, beta). The immunoprecipitated complex contains the binding sites for GABA, benzodiazepines and the convulsant TBPS. The receptor complex was located, immunocytochemically, in synapses of brain regions rich in GABAergic nerve terminals.