Mutant alpha4betadelta GABAA receptor and methods of treating anxiety or irritability

摘要

The present invention provides methods for treating anxiety or irritability in a subject. The methods comprise administering to the subject an effective amount of an antagonist of allopregnanolone (THP), or a regulator which decreases expression of the alpha 4 subunit of GABA such as gabadoxbol (THIP), or a vector comprising an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding a mutant alpha 4 subunit GABA_A receptor protein having a neutral or non-basic amino acid residue substituted for the arginine residue at position 353 of the wild type mature protein, wherein this nucleic acid molecule is operably linked to a promoter which functions in the human brain. Such methods are useful in treating a subject undergoing a stage such as entering or having reached puberty, suffering from pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), entering or having reached post-partem stage, entering or having reached menopause, and/or suffering from chronic stress. Also provided by the present isolated is a mutant alpha 4 subunit of GABA_A receptor protein which has a neutral or non-basic amino acid residue substituted for the arginine residue at position 353 of the wild type mature protein and an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding this mutated protein. The present invention also provides vectors comprising a subject isolated nucleic acid molecule operably liked to a promoter which functions in prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells, as well as host cells comprising such vectors. In addition, the present invention provides methods for identifying an antagonist of THP.