Find in Library

Numerous studies recently showed that the inhibitory neurotransmitter, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), can stimulate cerebral angiogenesis and promote neurovascular coupling by activating the ionotropic GABA_A receptors on cerebrovascular endothelial cells, whereas the endothelial role of the metabotropic GABA_B receptors is still unknown. Preliminary evidence showed that GABA_A receptor stimulation can induce an increase in endothelial Ca²⁺ levels, but the underlying signaling pathway remains to be fully unraveled. In the present investigation, we found that GABA evoked a biphasic elevation in [Ca²⁺]_i that was initiated by inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate- and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent Ca²⁺ release from neutral and acidic Ca²⁺ stores, respectively, and sustained by store-operated Ca²⁺ entry. GABA_A and GABA_B receptors were both required to trigger the endothelial Ca²⁺ response. Unexpectedly, we found that the GABA_A receptors signal in a flux-independent manner via the metabotropic GABA_B receptors. Likewise, the full Ca²⁺ response to GABA_B receptors requires functional GABA_A receptors. This study, therefore, sheds novel light on the molecular mechanisms by which GABA controls endothelial signaling at the neurovascular unit.