Perinatal hypoxia: different effects of the inhibitors of GABA transporters GAT1 and GAT3 on the initial velocity of [(3)H]GABA uptake by cortical, hippocampal, and thalamic nerve terminals

AIM: To analyze the effects of highly selective blocker GAT1, NO-711, and substrate inhibitor GAT3, β-alanine, on the initial velocity of [(3)H]GABA uptake by cortical, hippocampal, and thalamic nerve terminals (synaptosomes) after perinatal hypoxia. METHODS: Animals were divided into two groups: control (n = 17) and hypoxia (n = 12). Rats in the hypoxia group underwent hypoxia and seizures (airtight chamber, 4% O(2) and 96% N(2)) at the age of 10-12 postnatal days and were used in the experiments 8-9 weeks after hypoxia. RESULTS: In cortical synaptosomes, the effects of NO-711 (30 μΜ) and β-alanine (100 μΜ) on [(3)H]GABA uptake were similar in control and hypoxia groups. In hippocampal synaptosomes, NO-711 inhibited 84.3% of the initial velocity of [(3)H]GABA uptake in normal conditions and 80.1% after hypoxia, whereas the effect of β-alanine was increased after hypoxia from 14.4% to 22.1%. In thalamic synaptosomes, the effect of NO-711 was decreased by 79.6% in controls and by 70.9% in hypoxia group, whereas the effect of β-alanine was increased after hypoxia from 20.2% to 30.2%. CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness of β-alanine to influence GABA uptake was increased in hippocampal and thalamic nerve terminals as a result of perinatal hypoxia and the effectiveness of NO-711 in thalamic nerve terminals was decreased. These results may indicate changes in the ratio of active GAT1/GAT3 expressed in the plasma membrane of nerve terminals after perinatal hypoxia. We showed a possibility to modulate non-GAT1 GABA transporter activity in different brain regions by exogenous and endogenous β-alanine.