The difference between sleep and anaesthesia is in the intracellular signal : propofol and GABA use different subtypes of the GABAA receptor β subunit and vary in their interaction with actin

• Background: Propofol is known to interact with the γ-aminobutyric acidA (GABAA) receptor, however, activating the receptor alone is not sufficient for producing anaesthesia.Methods: To compare propofol and GABA, their interaction with the GABAA receptor β subunit and actin were studied in three cellular fractions of cultured rat neurons using Western blot technique.Results: Propofol tyrosine phosphorylated the GABAA receptor β2 (MW 54 and 56 kDa) and β3 (MW 57 kDa) subtypes. The increase was shown in both the cytoskeleton (β2(54) and β2(56) subtypes) and the cell membrane (β2(54) and β3 subtypes). Concurrently the 56 kDa β2 subtype was reduced in the cytosol. Propofol, but not GABA, also tyrosine phosphorylated actin in the cell membrane and cytoskeletal fraction. Without extracellular calcium available, the amount of actin decreased in the cytoskeleton, but tyrosine phosphorylation was unchanged. GABA caused increased tyrosine phosphorylation of β2(56) and β3 subtypes in the membrane and both β2 subtypes in the cytoskeleton but no cytosolic tyrosine phosphorylation.Conclusion: The difference between propofol and GABA at the GABAA receptor was shown to take place in the membrane, where the β2(54) was increased by propofol and instead the β2(56) subtype was increased by GABA. Only propofol also tyrosine phosphorylated actin in the cell membrane and cytoskeletal fraction. This interaction between the GABAA receptor and actin might explain the difference between anaesthesia and physiological neuronal inhibition.

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