Mechanisms Underlying the Enhancement of GABA Responses in the External Globus Pallidus of R6/2 Huntington’s Disease Model Mice

In Huntington’s Disease (HD), the output of striatal indirect pathway medium-sized spiny neurons (MSNs) is altered in its target region, the external globus pallidus (GPe). In a previous study we demonstrated that selective optogenetic stimulation of indirect pathway MSNs induced prolonged decay time of GABA responses in GPe neurons. Here we identified the mechanism underlying this alteration. Electrophysiological recordings in slices from symptomatic R6/2 and wildtype (WT) mice were used to evaluate, primarily, the effects of GABA transporter (GAT) antagonists on responses evoked by optogenetic activation of indirect pathway MSNs. In addition, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blots (WBs) were used to examine GAT-3 expression in HD and wildtype (WT) mice. A GAT-3 blocker (SNAP5114) increased decay time of GABA responses in WT and HD GPe neurons, but the effect was significantly greater in WT neurons. In contrast, a GAT-1 antagonist (NO-711) or a GABA B receptor antagonist (CGP 54626) produced small increases in decay time but no differential effects between genotypes. IHC and WBs showed reduction of GAT-3 expression in the GPe of HD mice. Thus, reduced expression or dysfunction of GAT-3 could underlie alterations of GPe responses to GABA inputs from striatum and could be a target for therapeutic intervention.