iGABASnFR Sensor Tools

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in vertebrates, cannot yet be monitored using tools that can track transients in healthy brain circuits. Scientists employed the same design concepts that went into making the fluorescent glutamate receptor iGluSnFR to make a GABA sensor. In order to create variations of iGABASnFR, they employed a protein generated from a previously unsequenced Pseudomonas fluorescens strain. They also did library screening and structure-guided mutagenesis on this protein. In acute brain slices, iGABASnFR, which is genetically encoded, recognizes GABA release induced by electric stimulation of afferent neurons and causes easily observable fluorescence alterations in living mice and zebrafish. They observed the levels of mitochondrial GABA and how they were influenced by interictal spikes and seizures in awake mice, GABA release events during swimming-evoked, GABA-mediated transmission in the cerebellum of zebrafish, and they found that isoflurane anesthesia reduces GABA-mediated tone. Creative Biolabs can offer iGABASnFR plasmids, viruses, and cell lines to help you through your project. We have extensive experience in providing genetically encoded sensor tools.