Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA.
Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2021 Oct;246(19):2128-2135. doi: 10.1177/15353702211032549.
γ-aminobutyric acid or GABA is an amino acid that functionally acts as a neurotransmitter and is critical to neurotransmission. GABA is also a metabolite in the Krebs cycle. It is therefore unsurprising that GABA and its receptors are also present outside of the central nervous system, including in immune cells. This observation suggests that GABAergic signaling impacts events beyond brain function and possibly human health beyond neurological disorders. Indeed, GABA receptor subunits are expressed in pathological disease states, including in disparate cancers. The role that GABA and its receptors may play in cancer development and progression remains unclear. If, however, those cancers have functional GABA receptors that participate in GABAergic signaling, it raises an important question whether these signaling pathways might be targetable for therapeutic benefit. Herein we summarize the effects of modulating Type-A GABA receptor signaling in various cancers and highlight how Type-A GABA receptors could emerge as a novel therapeutic target in cancer.
γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）是一种氨基酸，在功能上作为神经递质起作用，对神经传递至关重要。GABA 也是克雷布斯循环的代谢物。因此，GABA 及其受体不仅存在于中枢神经系统内，也存在于免疫细胞中，这并不奇怪。这一观察结果表明，GABA 能信号传递不仅影响大脑功能，而且可能影响神经系统疾病以外的人类健康。事实上，GABA 受体亚基在包括不同癌症在内的病理疾病状态中表达。GABA 及其受体在癌症发展和进展中可能发挥的作用尚不清楚。然而，如果这些癌症具有功能性 GABA 受体参与 GABA 能信号传递，则提出了一个重要问题，即这些信号通路是否可能成为治疗获益的靶点。本文总结了调节各种癌症中 A 型 GABA 受体信号的作用，并强调了 A 型 GABA 受体如何成为癌症治疗的新靶点。
