Kinetic properties of the GABAA receptor main conductance state of mouse spinal cord neurones in culture.

Abstract

The kinetic properties of the main conductance state of .gamma.-aminobutyric acidA (GABA) receptor channels from somata of mouse spinal cord neurones in cell culture were investigated using patch clamp techniques. The main conductance of the GABA receptor channel has at least three open and two closed states whose time constants are concentration independent. The channel opens into a single-opening burst and into two complex bursts consisting of multiple openings. Single-opening bursts may be composed primarily of openings to the O1 state while complex bursts may be composed primarily of openings to the O2 and O3 states. We present a preliminary model for the gating of the main conductance of the GABA receptor channel.