Ultrastructural Localization of GABA-like Immunoreactivity in the Vestibular Periphery of the Rat
- 1 January 1998
- journal article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Acta Oto-Laryngologica
- Vol. 118 (1), 90-95
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00016489850155198
Abstract
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is presumed to be a neurotransmitter candidate in the vestibular periphery of mammals. However, experimental reports about the localization of GABA in afferents or efferents of the vestibular systems are contradictory. It is an open question whether there are species differences in the amammalian vestibular system. The present study was designed to investigate the ultrastructural localization of GABA-like immunoreactivity in the vestibular periphery of the rat. A modified preembedding immunoelectron microscopy technique was applied using a polyclonal antibody to GABA as a marker. GABA-like immunoreactivity was revealed in the vestibular periphery of the rat, confined to the vesiculated nerve fibers and terminals of the rat vestibular neurosensory epithelia. Type I hair cells and type II hair cells as well as efferent chalices are devoid of GABA-like immunoreactive staining. These findings indicate that GABA is a neurotransmitter candidate of the efferent vestibular system of the rat.Keywords
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