Changes in Functionality, Expression of Extrasynaptic GABAA Receptors, and Synaptic Plasticity in the Rat Hippocampus During Pregnancy and Postpartum.
January 2009
TLDR During late pregnancy in rats, hormonal changes increased certain GABAA receptors in specific brain cells.
During pregnancy in rats, there were significant hormonal changes that affected the expression of GABAA receptor subunits in the brain, particularly in the dentate gyrus granule cells (DGGCs). At pregnancy day 19, there was an increase in tonic GABAergic currents and a marked increase in the abundance of the δ subunit of the GABAA receptor, with a decrease in the γ2 subunit. These changes were not observed in CA1 pyramidal cells. The administration of finasteride, a 5α-reductase inhibitor, from pregnancy day 12 to 18 prevented these changes, suggesting that the increase in extrasynaptic GABAA receptors in DGGCs during late pregnancy was due to fluctuations in neuroactive steroid levels.
