Adenosine receptor antagonists alter the stability of human epileptic GABAA receptors

We examined how the endogenous anticonvulsant adenosine might influence γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA_A) receptor stability and which adenosine receptors (ARs) were involved. Upon repetitive activation (GABA 500 μM), GABA_A receptors, microtransplanted into Xenopus oocytes from neurosurgically resected epileptic human nervous tissues, exhibited an obvious GABA_A-current (I_GABA) run-down, which was consistently and significantly reduced by treatment with the nonselective adenosine receptor antagonist CGS15943 (100 nM) or with adenosine deaminase (ADA) (1 units/ml), that inactivates adenosine. It was also found that selective antagonists of A2B (MRS1706, 10 nM) or A3 (MRS1334, 30 nM) receptors reduced I_GABA run-down, whereas treatment with the specific A1 receptor antagonist DPCPX (10 nM) was ineffective. The selective A2A receptor antagonist SCH58261 (10 nM) reduced or potentiated I_GABA run-down in ≈40% and ≈20% of tested oocytes, respectively. The ADA-resistant, AR agonist 2-chloroadenosine (2-CA) (10 μM) potentiated I_GABA run-down but only in ≈20% of tested oocytes. CGS15943 administration again decreased I_GABA run-down in patch-clamped neurons from either human or rat neocortex slices. I_GABA run-down in pyramidal neurons was equivalent in A1 receptor-deficient and wt neurons but much larger in neurons from A2A receptor-deficient mice, indicating that, in mouse cortex, GABA_A-receptor stability is tonically influenced by A2A but not by A1 receptors. I_GABA run-down from wt mice was not affected by 2-CA, suggesting maximal ARs activity by endogenous adenosine. Our findings strongly suggest that cortical A2–A3 receptors alter the stability of GABA_A receptors, which could offer therapeutic opportunities.