Tyrosine kinase phosphorylation of GABAA receptor subunits following chronic ethanol exposure of cultured cortical neurons of mice

Previous studies from our laboratory revealed that acute ethanol exposure inhibits phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) in mice. In the present study, we have further investigated effect of chronic administration of ethanol on tyrosine kinase phosphorylation of GABAA receptor subunits in the mouse cultured cortical neurons. We observed that there was an up-regulation in tyrosine kinase phosphorylation of the GABAA receptor β2 and γ2 subunits following chronic ethanol exposure, whereas there was no effect on α1 subunit of the GABAA receptor in the cultured cortical neurons of mice as determined by Western blotting. These results suggest a potential role for tyrosine kinase phosphorylation of some of the GABAA receptor subunits in chronic ethanol-induced tolerance and dependence.