The GABA and GABA-Receptor System in Inflammation, Anti-Tumor Immune Responses, and COVID-19

GABA and GABA -receptors (GABA -Rs) play major roles in neurodevelopment and neurotransmission in the central nervous system (CNS). There has been a growing appreciation that GABA -Rs are also present on most immune cells. Studies in the fields of autoimmune disease, cancer, parasitology, and virolo...

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Veröffentlicht in:Biomedicines 2023-01, Vol.11 (2), p.254
Hauptverfasser: Tian, Jide, Kaufman, Daniel L
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:GABA and GABA -receptors (GABA -Rs) play major roles in neurodevelopment and neurotransmission in the central nervous system (CNS). There has been a growing appreciation that GABA -Rs are also present on most immune cells. Studies in the fields of autoimmune disease, cancer, parasitology, and virology have observed that GABA-R ligands have anti-inflammatory actions on T cells and antigen-presenting cells (APCs), while also enhancing regulatory T cell (Treg) responses and shifting APCs toward anti-inflammatory phenotypes. These actions have enabled GABA -R ligands to ameliorate autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes (T1D), multiple sclerosis (MS), and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as type 2 diabetes (T2D)-associated inflammation in preclinical models. Conversely, antagonism of GABA -R activity promotes the pro-inflammatory responses of T cells and APCs, enhancing anti-tumor responses and reducing tumor burden in models of solid tumors. Lung epithelial cells also express GABA-Rs, whose activation helps maintain fluid homeostasis and promote recovery from injury. The ability of GABA -R agonists to limit both excessive immune responses and lung epithelial cell injury may underlie recent findings that GABA -R agonists reduce the severity of disease in mice infected with highly lethal coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2 and MHV-1). These observations suggest that GABA -R agonists may provide off-the-shelf therapies for COVID-19 caused by new SARS-CoV-2 variants, as well as novel beta-coronaviruses, which evade vaccine-induced immune responses and antiviral medications. We review these findings and further advance the notions that (1) immune cells possess GABA -Rs to limit inflammation in the CNS, and (2) this natural "braking system" on inflammatory responses may be pharmacologically engaged to slow the progression of autoimmune diseases, reduce the severity of COVID-19, and perhaps limit neuroinflammation associated with long COVID.
ISSN:2227-9059
2227-9059
DOI:10.3390/biomedicines11020254