Human brain transcriptome analysis finds region- and subject-specific expression signatures of GABA_AR subunits

Altered expression of GABA receptors (GABA_ARs) has been implicated in neurological and psychiatric disorders, but limited information about region-specific GABA_AR subunit expression in healthy human brains, heteromeric assembly of major isoforms, and their collective organization across healthy individuals, are major roadblocks to understanding their role in non-physiological states. Here, by using microarray and RNA-Seq datasets—from single cell nuclei to global brain expression—from the Allen Institute, we find that transcriptional expression of GABA_AR subunits is anatomically organized according to their neurodevelopmental origin. The data show a combination of complementary and mutually-exclusive expression patterns that delineate major isoforms, and which is highly stereotypical across brains from control donors. We summarize the region-specific signature of GAB_AR subunits per subject and its variability in a control population sample that can be used as a reference for remodeling changes during homeostatic rearrangements of GABA_AR subunits after physiological, pharmacological or pathological challenges.