In the latest issue of Nature, researchers from the universities of Freiburg and Basel report on their discovery of previously unknown subunits of the GABA B receptors in the central nervous system. GABA B receptors are transmembrane proteins in nerve cells which are of fundamental significance for the functioning of the brain and have great therapeutical and pharmaceutical importance. A team of scientists led by Prof. Dr. Bernd Fakler from the Institute of Physiology of the University of Freiburg and the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies BIOSS and Prof. Dr. Bernhard Bettler from the Department of Biomedicine of the University of Basel succeeded in conducting a comprehensive analysis of the composition of the brain's GABA B receptors.

In the process the team identified four new components of the GABA B receptor complexes: the so-called KCTD proteins, members of a gene family which has not yet been described. The researchers were able to demonstrate that the KCTD proteins determine both the pharmacological and the biophysical characteristics of the GABA B receptors. Among other things, the newly identified proteins explain why the previously known subunits could not reproduce the characteristics of the brain receptors.

GABA (= γ-amino-butyric acid) receptors are the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors of the central nervous system. They prevent the nerve cells from overly strong activation, which can lead to neurological and psychiatric illnesses such as convulsions, depression, or anxiety. There are currently two known types of GABA receptors, the GABA A and GABA B receptors. GABA A receptors are responsible for rapid inhibition of the brain and are the main site of action of important drugs like valium, which is used to treat anxiety conditions, in the therapy of epileptic seizures, and as a sleeping aid. GABA B receptors are important for more long-term inhibition of the nerve cells. Drugs which activate GABA B receptors are used to treat spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis as well as in therapies for addiction and narcolepsy.

The findings published in Nature could be of great therapeutical use. Scientists believe that it will soon be possible to develop drugs which selectively influence a particular subtype of receptor. The advantages of such drugs could include a reduction in side effects as well as entirely new therapeutic applications.