Ethanol-induced GABAA receptor alpha4 subunit plasticity involves phosphorylation and neuroactive steroids

• Thalamic GABAA receptor alpha4 subunit expression is increased following chronic ethanol exposure.
• Thalamic GABAA receptor alpha4 subunit expression is regulated following a single high dose ethanol exposure.
• Decreases in GABAA receptor alpha4 subunit expression is accompanied by reduced phosphorylation states.
• Neuroactive steroids contribute to delayed increases in thalamic GABAA receptor alpha4 subunit expression.

GABAA receptors containing α4 subunits are widely implicated in acute ethanol sensitivity, and their spatial and temporal regulation prominently contributes to ethanol-induced neuroplasticity in hippocampus and cortex. However, it is unknown if α4-containing GABAA receptors in the thalamus, an area of high α4 expression, display similar regulatory patterns following ethanol administration, and if so, by which molecular mechanisms. In the current study, thalamic GABAA receptor α4 subunit levels were increased following a 6-week-, but not a 2-week chronic ethanol diet. Following acute high-dose ethanol administration, thalamic GABAA receptor α4 subunit levels were regulated in a temporal fashion, as a decrease was observed at 2 h followed by a delayed transient increase. PKCγ and PKCδ levels paralleled α4 temporal expression patterns following ethanol exposure. Initial decreases in α4 subunit expression were associated with reduced serine phosphorylation. Delayed increases in expression were not associated with a change in phosphorylation state, but were prevented by inhibiting neuroactive steroid production with the 5α-reductase inhibitor finasteride. Overall, these studies indicate that thalamic GABAA receptor α4 subunit expression following acute and chronic ethanol administration exhibits similar regulatory patterns as other regions and that transient expression patterns following acute exposure in vivo are likely dependent on both subunit phosphorylation state and neuroactive steroids.