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Non-selective benzodiazepines, such as diazepam, interact with equivalent affinity and agonist efficacy at GABA(A) receptors containing either an alpha1, alpha2, alpha3 or alpha5 subunit. However, which of these particular subtypes are responsible for the anticonvulsant effects of diazepam remains uncertain. In the present study, we examined the ability of diazepam to reduce pentylenetetrazoLe (PTZ)-induced and maximal electroshock (MES)-induced seizures in mice containing point mutations in single (alpha1H101R, alpha2H101R or alpha5H105R) or multiple (alpha125H-->R) alpha subunits that render the resulting GABA(A) receptors diazepam-insensitive. Furthermore, the anticonvulsant properties of diazepam, the alpha1- and alpha3-selective compounds zolpidem and TP003, respectively, and the alpha2/alpha3 preferring compound TP13 were studied against PTZ-induced seizures. In the transgenic mice, no single subtype was responsible for the anticonvulsant effects of diazepam in either the PTZ or MES assay and neither the alpha3 nor alpha5 subtypes appeared to confer anticonvulsant activity. Moreover, whereas the alpha1 and alpha2 subtypes played a modest role with respect to the PTZ assay, they had a negligible role in the MES assay. With respect to subtype-selective compounds, zolpidem and TP003 had much reduced anticonvulsant efficacy relative to diazepam in both the PTZ and MES assays whereas TP13 had high anticonvulsant efficacy in the PTZ but not the MES assay. Taken together, these data not only indicate a role for alpha2-containing GABA(A) receptors in mediating PTZ and MES anticonvulsant activity but also suggest that efficacy at more than one subtype is required and that these subtypes act synergistically.

The majority of inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain is mediated by the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A (GABA(A)) receptor. The anticonvulsant loreclezole largely acts by potentiating GABA(A) receptors containing beta2 and beta3 subunits. We used a genetically modified mouse containing a loreclezole-insensitive beta2 subunit (beta2N265S) to determine the role of this subunit in mediating the sedative and anticonvulsive effects of loreclezole. Sedation was assessed by measuring spontaneous locomotor activity and beam walking performance, and anticonvulsant efficacy was determined by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and amygdala kindling-induced seizures. The beta2N265S mice did not exhibit loreclezole-mediated sedation as shown by normal locomotor activity and beam walking performance. However, loreclezole also failed to provide significant protection against PTZ-induced seizures in the beta2N265S mice. Reduced efficacy against amygdala-kindled seizures, both acutely and over a 13-day chronic dosing study, was also observed in beta2N265S mice. These results suggest that the majority of the sedative effects and a significant proportion of the anticonvulsant efficacy of loreclezole are mediated via beta2-containing GABA(A) receptors.

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