Thus, reduced expression and function of GABAARs may contribute to neurodegeneration associated with Huntington’s disease (Twelvetrees et al., 2010). Of note, the γ-aminobutyric acid(A) receptor-interacting factor, GRIF-1 (also known as TRAK2, OIP98, ALS2CR3, huMilt2), which has been shown to interact selectively with the β2 subunit in vitro (Beck et al., 2002), also interacts with KIF5 motor proteins (Brickley et al., 2005). The precise function of GRIF-1 in trafficking of GABAARs is unknown but the protein provides a second potential link

between GABAARs and the KIF5 vesicular trafficking machinery. Furthermore, the GRIF-1 paralog TRAK1, which also interacts with KIF5 (Brickley et al., 2005), has been isolated as the gene that causes a spontaneous hypertonic mutant phenotype of mice find more associated with elevated basal activity of motor neurons (Gilbert et al., 2006). TRAK1 can be immunoprecipitated with GABAARs from brain extracts and results in reduced GABAAR immunostaining when mutated, probably due to a dominant-negative effect of mutant TRAK1. Consistent with an underlying GABAAR deficit, the hypertonic phenotype of TRAK1 mutants can be ameliorated by potentiation of GABAAR function with benzodiazepines (Gilbert et al., 2006). An independent line of experiments identified calcium-modulating cyclophilin ligand (CAML) as a regulator of postendocytic trafficking of GABAARs (Figure 4)

(Yuan et al., 2008). CAML is an integral membrane protein that is essential

for normal embryonic development and for differentiation selleck chemicals of neurons in culture. However, conditional deletion of CAML in differentiated neurons results in reduced accumulation of GABAARs at the plasma membrane and at synapses, along with selective GABAergic but not glutamatergic functional deficits. Interestingly, CAML interacts with the C-terminal cytoplasmic and transmembrane domains of γ subunits (Yuan et al., 2008). These domains are essential for clustering and function of GABAARs at synapses, as was shown for the γ2 subunit Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (Alldred et al., 2005 and Christie et al., 2006). Reduced plasma membrane accumulation and function of GABAARs in CAML-deficient neurons is associated with normal endocytosis from the plasma membrane but reduced recycling of GABAARs from endocytic pools (Yuan et al., 2008). This function of CAML in endocytic recycling of GABAARs is consistent with a similar role of CAML in recycling of endocytosed epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (Tran et al., 2003). A recent report has identified Maf1 and a Maf1-interacting coiled-coil protein named Macoco as additional GABAAR β3 subunit interacting proteins (Smith et al., 2010). Maf1 was originally identified in yeast as a nuclear regulator of t-RNA transcription (Pluta et al., 2001). However, in neurons Maf1 is also present in the somatodendritic cytoplasm.